Missing in Action
by ElephantDoingCrack
Summary: Missing in λction is about the continuation of Adrian Shephard's story through a new setting with new characters. After waking up years later, he must figure out the mystery behind City 22 and how to stop their production.
1. Chapter 1 - Astound Vision

_Missing in λction_

_CHAPTER I: Astound Vision_

There was at one point in my life where I killed a huge nauseating green tentacle worm monster. That's when a man in a blue suit put me here.

I wish I could tell you more, but what is there to say? I don't know what happened to my friends, my family, my acquaintances, or my enemies. I can tell you that my government betrayed us and sent in Black Ops to kill everyone. I also know that the government man accused me of being a witness of something, more like a witness who doesn't know anything. How am I a witness if I can't even remember when Black Mesa was; I have been here for so long that I've lost thought about it.

And that's pretty much all I know.

But, that's not why you're here, is it? To hear me complaining about personal feelings of mine?

Well, guess what, I'm not doing any of that. In fact, I have a new story for you. I do hope you can find it somewhat entertaining. Honestly, I don't know where to start. I guess the safest thing to do is to start where it began.

It all started with me just sitting in time and space as usual. I'm not sure what I was doing back then, probably nothing.

But out of nowhere, the doors opened; then, the government man came out. I knew he was going to offer me something, why else would he be there? We did eventually speak to each other.

"So, Corporal Shephard, we meet once more. I do apologize for your curiosity and otherwise, lack of answers. But, there have been other plannings during your absence Mister Shephard, I do hope you understand. But now I come to you, to tell you that the plan that has been orchestrated unfortunately has many issues to it, someone would have to 'tie up' these, " he took a deep breath, "loose ends." He exhaled and made those two words well heard in his inhuman voice.

"Wait, so let me get this straight, so you leave me in the dark for god knows how long and now you finally come back after all this time to offer me a job?" I said with curiosity.

"Well, to put it lightly, yes."

"Alright, count me in, " I said.

"Like that?" He asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I'm tired of living and spending my life in this goddamn place. I want to go out there and experience the world again!"

"Well that's good to hear, my employers thought you would be hostile. Makes this a lot more easier."

The government man decided to sit opposite from me. "Anyways, I persuaded my employers that you may have a potential for our mission, which they now fully agree with me on these matters. A man you once heard of, who you may have thought was a foe, now needs your help. After all, he was part of your personal Holocaust," he said in a inhuman like manner.

"Yeah I think I have an idea of who you are talking about," I said.

"Quite so."

"So what's exactly my mission?" I asked.

"Well, times have changed during your resting, Mr. Shephard. You will be placed in a city known as 'City 22.' All you need to know is that this area is a major trading partner with the city sectors of Earth. You must destroy or stop all means of production coming in from this location, so everyone in City 17 can have enough time to wait for the arrival of you know who. Now get on your feet and tread lightly, Corporal Shephard."

"Wait what? I'm sorry, but can you please be more specific? I have no idea what the hell you're even talking about. How do ya suppose I do all of th-"

He got up and walked out of existence like that, faster than sound; didn't even listen to me.

But all of a sudden, I found myself on a beach.

I heard the waves flowing on and off the shores. The sand I was on felt fresh and warm. The palm trees were as young and new as a newborn. My hands were wet and felt strange.

At the time, I didn't get any of it.

Next thing I know, I hear someone saying something to me.

"Hey, pal get up, wanna smoke maybe?" Said the mysterious voice.

The man had a grumpy, but also a kind, voice to him.

I wasn't waking up, I felt so tiresome, for a reason I don't know.

The man started lightly kicking me, "Oh my god, get up will ya?" A minute passes, he was still casually and slowly kicking me, "Will you wake the hell up alrighty!? God damn, even I'm not that much of a heavy sleeper!" Screamed the mysterious voice. But, the voice also sounded familiar for some reason.

He then kicked me as hard as he could on my side rib. That woke me up because of how painful the impact was.

I would wake up moaning in pain and frustration. "Hey your finally waking up, well I hope so."

My vision was blurry, I was trying to adjust my eyes and see straight. My body felt like a corpse that had just came back to life.

I tried inspecting the area around me; I found myself sleeping on a mattress in the middle of an alleyway. It was early in the morning, but it was still dark.

I looked up to see whoever was talking to me. I saw a man with a lengthy beard, Caucasian, short brown hair, brown eyes and smoking a cigarette. Who was this man? "God damn, can't believe I'm looking at the one and only."

"Ummm….who are you?" I asked in a confused voice.

"Who am I?! It's me, Jackson, I was on Goose 7 with you back in Black Mesa!" He was screaming at me too. "You probably don't recognize me because of this beard of mine," he said in excitement while pointing at his beard.

"Jackson?" I paused for a second and thought about it. "You mean that guy I trained with back in Arizona and fought alongside with at Black Mesa?"

"Yeah, you bet man!"

"Where the hell am I?" I asked in a groaning voice.

"Well, you're sleeping on a mattress. Mystery solved! Where's my prize?" Said Jackson sarcastically.

"Na really? Tell me something I don't fucking know already!" I screamed at Jackson.

"Hey man calm down, don't have a panic attack or anything, " Jackson said with concern. "But, seriously, why are you sleeping on a mattress anyways? Did you have too much to drink or are you just homeless," Jackson asked in another jokingly type tone.

"I'm not homeless," I said with belligerence. "I see you haven't changed all that much, you still ain't helpful."

"Okay, chill Adrian, I was only joking around. Why are you here though, can you at least answer me that?"

I got up from the mattress to stretch.

"I guess a hangover or something, I can't remember," I answered Jackson.

In case you didn't know, I just made that up.

"Oh, well that sucks," Jackson said, "Regardless, it's great to see you again man. Though I just wish it was under better circumstances."

I was glad to see a familiar face like Jackson's, though he looked older than the last time I saw him; he was starting to have gray spots on the side of his hair.

"Hey uh… Jackson, what's with the um.." I started waving my hand around my face.

"What?" Asked Jackson.

"Your beard man, what the fuck is that thing?! You look like a fucking Lumberjack!"

"What? I've been growing it out, I think it looks pretty cool," answered Jackson. "Also, stop acting childish and use more mature language," asked Jackson.

"Childish," I asked in surprise. "Man, look who's talking," I whispered to myself. I paused and then said,"I still think your beard looks stupid though."

"Whatever man, what do you know?" Jackson said. "Speaking of appearance, you still look the same the last time I saw you. Why is that anyway? Did you drink a potion that grants you immortality or something? I sure would want a hit of that-"

As Jackson was rambling on, I saw a Metrocop in the distance. He looked like a Metrocop from any other common sector, but he had blue eyes and his armband said 'C22.' He turned his head in our direction, then he just started walking towards us.

"HEY!" That got Jackson's attention alright, "What the hell are you two doing over there?!" Asked the angry Metrocop.

"Nothing officer," Jackson said, "we were about to leave."

"If I see you back here again, I will make sure you have the worst beating of your life!" Screamed the pissed off Metrocop.

"Oh..Okay, sorry sir," said Jackson in a scared and stuttered voice.

The Metrocop left the area and went somewhere else.

Jackson looked back at me and said, "Man, what's his problem?" Jackson asked in frustration.

"What was that," I asked him.

"Honestly, this isn't the first time I've been through something like this. I think that CP already knows me, but he just hates me and does it to piss me off. Probably a god damn Fallen if you ask me," Jackson said in frustration.

I wondered what he was talking about, I couldn't guess what a 'Fallen' meant.

"How many times has it happened to you," I asked.

"I don't know man, I've lost count at this point," Jackson said. "Look, Adrian, I would love to chat more, but I need to go. If you wanna chat though, come by the abandoned bank on the other side of town. Some of my friends can help you on your way," Jackson suggested.

"Jackson I don't have a damn clue where anything is," I said.

"Well then find out where you are going then. Ask other people, besides me, for help," Jackson suggested again.

"Can you at least point me in a direction of some kind?" I asked Jackson.

"Alright fine, I'll give you some clues. Now, there's this pawn shop that owns a map, it'll show you where to go. The pawn shop is called 'Pawn Shop,' I know store name of the century am I right?," Jackson then chuckled a little bit, "Alright you got all that?

"Well, can you at least tell me where it is?" I eagerly asked.

"It's down a few blocks from here and you can start by going in that direction," he pointed in the area I had to go in. "Do you need anything else, Prince Adrian," Jackson sarcastically asked.

"Well, at least I have an idea of what I'm looking for," I said. "Oh hey before I go, what is this place anyways?"

Jackson looked at me suspiciously; like as if my question was incoherent to him.

"What do you mean? Like the city were in right now," Jackson asked in confusion.

"Yes."

"City 22. Did you get transferred here or something?" Jackson asked in curiosity.

"Yeah, you could say something like that," I answered.

"Actually, that makes a lot of sense: I haven't seen you around here before."

"Yeah, I'm kinda new here."

Jackson decided to lie on a bench and said he would catch up with me later.

I took a walk through the streets of City 22. The streets were decorated with neon lights like pink, purple, blue and other neon colors. The city lights blazed of bright colors with signs and promotable ADs everywhere. The ADs were doing nothing but promoting products. Skyscrapers over my head, like as if the city was New York, but with bright lights.

However, those streets were also sickening to look at; there was trash all over the environment, people living in fear and many living in poor living conditions.

There was also this tall building that was the command center of City 22; the building was called the "Citadel," it had a curvy design and layout to it. The Citadel is the largest building I've ever seen, I couldn't begin to tell you about how big it is.

There's also a lot of factories in City 22; I saw people making products and materials for city use. The Suffusion of smoke within these factories caused sickness and lack of treatment for it's workers.

There was a vastly amount of posters during my visit to City 22. The posters weren't threatening nor harmful, instead they had charm and friendly approaches to them. The topics of the posters were varied: some were about business, news, employment, Patriotism or to love the Senator.

The Senator was in charge of City 22 and was their commander in chief. He was Caucasian, wore a black coat and black dress shirt, black tie, gray dress pants, he always wore a black top hat, had white hair but was going bald, and had a curvy white mustache. From what I saw of him, he seemed to be growing old.

As I was walking through the streets, I found the pawn shop Jackson was talking about. There was a bright blue sign by the shop and it said how it was opened, so I walked inside.

There was nobody there, except for two individuals who looked like they worked there. One of them was over the counter and one was cleaning the floor with a broom. I walked over to the woman with the broom and asked her if they had a map that I could look at. She didn't know for sure, so she turned her head to the counter and shouted,

"Hey Luke!" The man known as 'Luke' popped his head up from the counter and yelled,

"Yeah?!"

"Don't we have a map?"

"Yeah, we have this one." The man known as Luke pulled out a map from behind the counter.

I walked over to see the map, it was a huge map that could possibly cover up two tables. I grabbed the map and looked at it; I found the bank that Jackson mentioned; from further examination, I had to pass through a place called the Museum of Humanity. I thought that the area could give me some answers.

Luke looks at me and says,

"Hey pal, you wouldn't happen to have marks or money on you wouldya?"

"I'm sorry man, I don't have any cash on me. I'm new here and I have to meet up with a friend of mine; he is like family to me, " I stated.

"Oh, that explains why you wanna see the map. But don't worry pal, I'm glad we could help. Although we're living in troubled times, it's nice to help out others now and again."

"Oh, " I said in surprise, "why thank you, I'll be on my way now." While I was walking out, they both shouted at the same time 'goodbye' to me; they both sounded odd for some reason. Not sure if I am looking too deep into this.

I then went into one of the subways because that was the fastest route. I got on one of those subway trains, but nobody else was there except for me. The train ride itself felt like an eternity. I just wanted it to end. But here's the thing, it wasn't that long of a ride, it was about a couple of minutes long. While I was lying down on that chair, it reminded me of being in stasis; I felt so alone again. Then, that loneliness got me thinking about Black Mesa, and how all of my friends died in cold blood; they were just butchered like animals, and for what? It never covered up anything.

The train finally stopped, I got off and walked up the stairs which led me to the surface. Once I reached the streets, it started raining; but it was still dark out, as the skies were filled with black clouds. At the time, I thought it was a terrible time for rain. Too bad I didn't have a coat nor a jacket with me, all I had was a City 22 outfit.

When I was walking through those streets, I analyzed my environment more. Where I was looked different than where I was previously. There was no more blazing bright lights or charm to anything. Mostly everything about the area was dull and gray, instead of colorful like before. It's like as if color itself was slowly dying. Many of the buildings around me were slowly but surely getting run down. There were still ruins of the bright lights and charm there, but they seem like something from the past that was long forgotten; but not before the Combine occupation, but during. I even saw a Skeleton, dressed up in a brown overcoat with a green armband on his right arm, hanging from a telephone wire. That part of the city just looked dead and unlively. Was the whole city slowly turning into this? Like a disease taking over the body, one by one? I make it sound like as if the area I was at before was better, but it was pretty disturbing as well. The difference was that the area I was in was just worse than the other.

There were more propaganda posters in the area, but most of them were the same. They had gray backgrounds and the only thing the posters said was, "OBTAIN FERTILIZED BIOTICS TODAY, " colored in big white lettering. I figured the posters were promoting something, but I didn't know what. The poster that I was looking at for some reason had blood on the bottom right side of it, but, I could still make out what was underneath it. It was a warning label of some kind with the combine logo stamp by it; it said, "Reminder: this product or object is a property from our Benefactors and the Universal Union. These materials shall not be plagiarized nor borrowed. Any attempts of an infringement, the malefactors shall be cauterized of their crimes. The profit goes to help the occupants of City 22 and to our glorious Benefactors."

But then I realized something, back at the pawn shop, mostly everything in that store had the same Combine stamp on the stocks and goods; it also had the stamp for the other posters as well. That is when I understood that this society must have some sure of capitalistic ideals. There must be money or business involvement within and out of the city. But, if their stamps were really on every single advertisement and product, then that could mean the combine have full control over the market and the economy; or at least just in the city. Though at the time, I didn't really care; it wasn't my problem and if people aren't getting hurt or affected by it, then why bother, am I right?...

I saw a group of humans ganging up on a Vortigaunt in an alleyway. The Vortigaunt was on the ground being brutally and repeatedly kicked by the humans. The humans wore black leather jackets and coats with green armbands around their right arms. The human gang had flashlights and they shined them on the Vortigaunt. They were screaming and chanting things like: 'Take this you alien bastard, Humanity first, Eat shit motherfucker!' One of the humans wasn't involved with the beating; instead, he was vigilant about their surroundings and waved a flashlight around. As much as I wanted to help the poor Vortigaunt, I only wanted to meet up with Jackson; I couldn't just get into a random fight. I was mixed about the issue back then: since Black Mesa, for me, was not too long ago, I had no sympathy for the aliens; but, another part of me thought that this was wrong, the Vortigaunt didn't do anything. They probably had knives or other weapons on them. With or without weapons, I could, in theory, take them all out with just my fists; but, I most likely wouldn't make it out without getting some worrisome injuries. To add on that, they would be ready for me, the individual keeping watch would spot me and then warn his friends. It's not like I could take them by surprise. I couldn't take the chance, so, I walked away. I probably got somebody killed that day, I still wish I could have done something else.

I started hearing an announcer coming from the citadel, it had a male voice to it. It said something like,

"Attention, all workers of City 22, paychecks will be arranged to your local district bank terminal. Code: receive, prosper, gluttony."

Finally, after a long walk through the city, I got to the Museum of Humanity. The museum layout was a glass pyramid that was in the slowly decaying city center. Sadly for me, the front door said the place was closed. I didn't know what to do. I felt like a headless chicken in the rain, shivering with no answers or clues on where to go next. Then, I did some brainstorming on what I should do next, maybe walk around the museum? None of it mattered though, because the manager, or the owner, saw me outside. He opened the front door and said,

"Excuse me mister, but you wouldn't happen to be an Adrian Shephard now wouldya!?"

"Yeah! Who's asking?!" I asked the owner in a loud voice. We had to speak loudly to each other because of how thunderous and heavy the rain was.

"Your friend Owen, or Mister Jackson, he made it pretty clear on what you looked like! Also mister what the hell you doing out in the rain?! You don't even have a jacket on! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" The worried owner asked.

"Well, no sir, not necessarily!" I said jokingly.

"Alrighty come on in here, but do it fast before anyone sees you," I ran inside the museum covering the left side of my face with my left hand. I got inside the museum and thought it was so refreshing; maybe it's because of how warm it was in there or something.

"I appreciate your hospitality mister ...um?"

"The name's Robin Yancey, and don't mention it, we certainly need more good people nowadays." This individual had round glasses on, early 40's, bald with dark brown hair on the side, and he was Caucasian.

"Is this really the only way to the bank?" I asked.

"Well, you's would have to come by here. So basically yeah, kind of," Robin said. "There's also a person named Darryl around here somewhere, he'll be escorting you to dat bank."

"Thanks for telling me that Robin, I'll be on my way now," I said.

When I was exploring the museum, I didn't see anything that was historically accurate. The Combine changed most events and moments throughout history and use them for propaganda. There was one item that caught my eye, the American Flag. The description read how it was part of an "oppressive regime" and "dictatorship." It said how Earth before the Combine invasion was a planet with non-stop war and how everyone lived like 'barbarians.' The Combine treats humans from history like this because of how 'weak' we were before the Combine occupation. After the Black Mesa Research Facility was decimated, the world fell into a panic. Some countries started nuking each other, and Xen lifeforms were inhabiting our planet from Portal Storms. But all of that was before the Seven Hour War. The Combine came in around when everyone was already killing each other. Although the United Nations tried combating against the Combine with their limited resources, there was nothing much they could do. After just seven hours of Portal Storms and an army that was too large for us, Earth surrendered.

During the peace conference, the president of the United States of America, Wallace Breen, and the Combine met at the United Nations in New York. The president and Breen signed the Treaty of Earth, officially making Earth a colony of the Universal Union. The Combine appreciated Breen's cooperation and gentle kindness. Breen even had a secret conversation with an Advisor about wanting to be the administrator of Earth, the combine, with full trust, would agree to his terms. The Combine selected Breen to lead Earth because he seemed fit for the job and knowledgeable. For the president, however, he would later feel the consequences of his misluck. The combine despised the president for not having sympathy and disagreeing with the treaty. They wanted to dispose of him and thought he would be a problem to the Universal Union. When the treaty was signed, Breen was the first person who was escorted out; he would be one of the only people to leave the United Nations that day. Three minutes later, a synth would take out its pistol and then shot the president in the head; spilling his brain chunks across the table, with his eyeball hanging out of his eye socket. Most of the politicians at the UN would be brutally gunned down, or at least the politicians they saw as unworthy.

I couldn't even tell if some of the events were true. Robin told me that they could be true in some way. Also, he said how Earth would have lost regardless; even if we were prepared. He also told me that Breen was in charge of Earth for a couple of years. Apparently, Breen was a leader with too much on his hands. Many resistance movements would spread across the planet. It got so catastrophic that the Universal Union had to step in and reorganize everything. The removal of Breen's leadership would be the beginning of a new age; the decision was made to have all cities have their own administrators. Breen would still be the speaker of Earth and would still be an administrator over a city. But, Robin doesn't know what Sector Breen operates in now.

As I was wondering about, I heard someone saying something to me.

"Hey you over there, come over here," said a mysterious figure. I go over to see who it is. He had a deep voice to him, he was black and had green eyes. Also, this guy was wearing a green and orange worker suit with an orange hard hat. "Hey man, nice to meet you, I'm guessing your Shephard uh?"

"Yeah, just cut to the chase wouldya?" I asked in a hurry.

"Alright, alright, man, I'll make it quick. My name is Darryl Darnell, I'll be the one escorting you to the bank where Owen is."

"Thanks, Darryl, that's very thoughtful of you," I said.

"No problem, now let's get out of here."

I followed Darryl out of the Museum of Humanity. We walked down the street and into an Alleyway with the rainy sky still out.

I heard the Overwatch announcer again; He said, "Attention, all personnel of Red Company, you have been assigned to exterminate anti-citizens reported in these coordinates. Code: deploy, obliterate, jubilation." Darryl looked at me and said,

"Don't worry, he's not talking about us." As we were walking, nobody was there except for Darryl and I. Darryl's face had the look of bewilderment. "Where are the guards at?" Darryl asked himself.

"Wait what guards?" I asked.

"Ah… Fuck it. Come over here, Shephard."

He runs over to a sewer manhole and opens it for me. "Crawl down here, " he said.

"Wait, what's going on? Why do I need to crawl in the sewers now?" I asked.

"Shephard, there may not be any time to explain. Just go down the drain!" Darryl screamed in fear and panic.

"Okay, I'll do it," I said. "I mean to be fair, I've been through worse."

"Hurry up, " Darryl screamed in a hurried voice. I got on the ladder and started descending. "Don't worry Shephard, you'll do fine. Just look out for the Lambda, it'll lead you man." I got off the ladder by jumping onto the ground. I then realized he called me by my last name. Why would he do that? He could have just called me by my first name like how I did for him. Maybe he was acting formal about it. Also, I didn't know what the hell Darryl meant by 'just look out for a 'Lambda.' I had to find out what he meant by that; I sure did have some fun doing that (not really).

When walking through the sewers, I found somebody at a fireplace near the sewer water; he was cooking a headcrab while sitting down in a wooden chair. He had a dark green bucket hat, Caucasian, pencil mustache, green jacket, and he looked around his late 30's. I thought something about him was odd: why was he cooking in the sewers? I tried affording eye contact so I would not have to speak with this individual. But then, he notices me and says in a calm voice,

"Hello there," he paused. "what brings you here on this fine morning," he asked me in an unemotional voice. I got spooked by him talking and turned around quickly to find him staring at me.

"Oh, well I guess I'm just going for a walk," I said in a stuttering voice.

"A walk?" The fisherman questioned. "And you guess?"

"Uhm yeah, I've been walking for um...," I paused, "Well actually, I don't know how long. I Wasn't really watching the time."

"Hmm," he hummed, "that's fascinating, are you enjoying the walk?"

"I guess, I'm just thinking about stuff and other stuff," I replied.

"Oh I understand," he said, "are you loving this morning?"

"Na not really, I feel like I'm dying," I said.

"Oh, how come?" He asked in a curious voice.

"Well, I woke up on a mattress in the middle of an alleyway, and I feel pain all over my body," I stated.

"Well that sounds rough."

"Yeah, it sure is," I said. "Are you enjoying your morning though?" I asked.

"Why yes, I'm just having a blast," he said.

"Oh, well umm… what are you doing there?" I pointed at his meal.

"Just trying to get some breakfast. Have you ever tasted a headcrab before? They taste rather," he paused and thought about it, "actually, I don't know how to describe the taste. Maybe it has a robust taste to it, sured of." When he said 'robust,' I felt something was wrong about him. Also, when he said 'headcrab,' I thought it was a weird name for those things.

"Cool," I said.

"Would you like some?" He asked.

"Uhm.. no, I would rather eat a rat," I said.

"Oh, well more for me than." I wanted to bail out of this conversation, so I said,

"I think I'm going to go back at it," I said. He was gazing back at me, wasn't even saying anything. "You know, walking." The Fisherman then said with relief,

"Oh, okay then, hope you get where you're going." I smiled and thanked him. As I was walking away from the Fisherman, he shouted behind my back, "Now don't get lost now you hear, " in an overly joyful tone. I gave him a wave for a goodbye.

I just kept on walking through the sewers. I was wandering for so long that I forgot what minute it was. My legs, at that point, felt like they could pass out at any moment. In the back of my mind, I thought that I messed up and went the wrong way. But, I just kept walking, trying to find anything or just that Lambda. Though it got me thinking, were the peace talks at the United Nations real? I can tell you that the U.S. wasn't a dictatorship in anyway. But during and even before the Combine occupation, I can't say if the events are valid. Does Robin only know the made-up history? Robin didn't even know for sure if it was true. I don't know whether I believe it or not.

Later on, I found a wooden door from the corner of my eye. I didn't know why it was there in the sewers, your guess is as good as mine. Curious, I walk over to the door and I put my left hand on the knob to find out that its lock was released. I opened the wooden door gently and slowly as possible. Then, I peeked my head around the door to see what was inside. It looked like it was an office of some kind; but it looked clear, I didn't hear or see anything suspicious. I open the door all the way and welcomed myself inside. The room had a desk, chair, file cabinets; you know, things that would normally be in an office. But what really got my attention was a blank picture frame in front of me, with a sprayed painted Lambda on it, hanging up on the wall. After hopelessly walking for an eternity, I was pretty desperate for anything and believed it to be where I had to go. I moved the frame off the wall to find behind it a hole in the wall. That's when I knew that this was where I had to go to get to the bank. I climbed into the hole and then crawled on my shoulders and knees. One thing I noticed was that I advanced from crawling on dirt to suddenly in a vent; that gave me another indication that I was on the right track. So then, I secured my way to the bank to meet up with Jackson.

After that, I wouldn't have even guessed what this adventure would plan for me. it would be the start of a much larger story. But honestly, that's a story for another day.

End of Chapter I

August 14, 2019

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

I hope you were able to enjoy my story, it took me a little bit longer than I expected, but I got it done. I know this chapter was long, in the future I'll try shortening it. That is if I am willing to come back to continue this story; the reason why I wrote this was because I wanted to get some practice with writing. I can't promise I'll come back to finish Missing in Action because I don't know if I want to finish it or not. I have some ideas of what I could do with this story, but I can't promise anything. However, if I feel like I want to continue Missing in Action and take it somewhere and beyond, then I'll totally make another chapter. I'm sorry if you just read my whole story and feel like this is a slap in the face or anticlimactic; I know this may be weird for whoever reads this. But, I have no problems coming back to this story in the future, I just don't know if I want to continue it now, later, or never. But, I would like to hear criticism if you had a problem with my story, I'm an opened mind man who likes to hear and learn from his mistakes and issues.

I also have a YouTube channel called "Elephants Doing Crack," it's a very abnormal channel. The link is:  channel/UCGEwsB7LK8_duOhvpJW7_jw/videos

I do hope you enjoyed my story, maybe I'll come back to Missing in Action, if I have the right motivation.


	2. Chapter 2 - Meeting With An Old Chum

_Missing in λction_

_CHAPTER II: Meeting With An Old Chum_

It's so strange that I went through with an old colleague's advice. A person who hasn't seen me in years, and a person I rarely spoke to. I didn't have to do this, but for some reason, I did. Maybe it was because I was lost or alone in this cold world, without answers I only had questions. But here I was, in a vent that felt like it was squeezing me from all sides the further I went. Like a cat trying to fit into a mouse hole. Or maybe it was just my imagination, who can tell anymore, it's been a while since I last did something similar to this. Speaking of yours truly, it got me thinking. Who am I? What do I even stand for? What do I even want or do I want anything? Is this worth it? Sometimes trying to figure that stuff out is difficult, you never know if the mysterious chemicals you're mixing up will help you in the long run or not. You just have to keep on trying till something sticks, and maybe you'll find out that it was in your face the whole time; I just hope I'm finding some kind of meaning.

In the distance, I saw a beam of light headed in my direction, from darkness to light. I guess it was the grace of warmth that gave me hope. I crawled up to the ending of the vent; it was a vent door that was rusty and weak enough to bust open. I inhaled, then exhaled, and punched the door vent with my right hand as hard as possible. The door went soaring through the air before the metal plating's impact was heard and echoed throughout the area. My knuckles felt the hard and forced results of pain, but it was tolerable, I of all people should know that. I admit that it wasn't really a rational or well thought out decision, but it did work. After sucking up the pain, I peeked my head out to see where I was.

I found myself in what looked like a lobby of a bank that was forgotten by history. There was grass growing all over the place, mold covered the corners, graffiti took the walls, the clocks stopped at six thirty two before midday, and there was a massive hole in the ceiling with a bright light coming from the sun. But, this bank was not pre-war, this was formerly a Combine bank: the Combine banner was here, along with their abandoned tech as well as with their long gone power. The real question on my mind was how was I going to go from the vent and onto the ground without busting my head open?

I couldn't turn my legs around and jump down to safety, my only option was to try and crawl out of the vent and not attempt to kill myself in the process. I placed both of my hands on the wall below me and tried advancing downwards. It was struggling, but I knew deep down inside about my foreshadowment. Once my legs were exposed, that's when I slipped out of the vent and lost my grip; flying off from above ground while landing on my back rib. Now, I can say with confidence, that moment was beyond painful. Feeling like I had absolutely no control over my body, it was difficult to move. While lying on the floor with my regrets, I looked up at the ceiling and noticed a barnacle hanging over me. I rushed myself to get back on my feet. I was more terrified than a victim of an axe murderer. However, when I analyzed the barnacle from down there, it's tongue wasn't out. The only thing I knew was that it wasn't trying to consume me, maybe it was resting or something. It was safe, for now.

I turned around and explored the lobby in which Jackson was nowhere to be found. I wasn't liking the scenery, this bank wasn't really the place where old time friends got back together. It was the kind of place where dealers sold their products, and addicts would pay for it if the price was their life. I hopped over the counter to search the drawers and desks to find nothing. The Combine terminal computers wouldn't turn on, my mind felt like unstable sanity, it took me a second to realize why they didn't work. Then I heard a thundurus bang come from behind me. I turned around in a panic to see what it was. Jackson was standing there with a straight face, while pulling out a cigarette.

"And now," Jackson paused to place the smoke in his mouth, "you are dead, congratulations." Jackson lit his nicotine carrier.

"Uh?!" I shrugged in shock. I started hysterically checking my chest and body.

"Hey, calm down man, all I said was 'bang,'" Jackson said with concern. "I didn't think that would scare you so much."

"Why the hell did you do that?!" I was still shocked by the event, so I raised my voice.

"To teach you a lesson, why else? You really should be more careful about your surroundings," Jackson stated. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. I looked back at Jackson, I started focusing on the obvious change that had occured; he shaved his beard off, he now had a goatee like he did back at Black Mesa.

¨Hey," I said, "what happened to your beard, I thought you 'liked it' or something.¨

¨Oh yeah, I did,¨ Jackson said with a long pause after.¨I guess I did this because after I saw you, it reminded me of the old times we had. So I shaved my facial hair into a goatee, it's a little rough and not clean that well, but I think this is who I am, Adrian. And I feel much better about this than the previous style I was going for,¨ Jackson explained.

"I Understand,¨ I said.¨"But, what you said earlier, I'll try to keep it in mind."

"So, you came back for me uh?" Jackson said in a curious voice.

"No, I just had nothing better to do," I told him the truth, I don't know what else to do.

"Oh," Jackson changes the topic, "Well, about that situation with the Combine not being at their post? It must be something really important."

"Or it probably could be nothin'," I suggested.

"No, that's unlikely, there is always at least one there. Who even knows anymore, for all I know there's probably a holiday I've never heard before." A thought came into mind, how did Jackson know about this?

"Wait, how do you know about that?" Jackson then grabbed out of his pocket to show me a pink toy that was made for little girls. It was a walkie talkie and was the most least complex device. There was one button for communication, two other buttons to change the frequency, and an antenna that folded up and down. Somehow, no words were needed, he just showed me it and I knew. "Oh," I said. Jackson put the walkie talkie away.

"Anyways, I should probably introduce you to my friends."

"Wait, what friends?" I asked. "They're other people here?"

"Of course there are. What, did you think I just hid in an old double U bank with this girly walkie talkie doing nothing? I'm running a operation here for the Lambdas," Jackson thought about what he said. "Actually, in a way of looking at it, I'm kinda doing somebody a favor by doing this. It's somewhat of a long story, but um...," Jackson struggled with his words, "let's just not talk about that." Jackson had the face of a memory that gave him chills, the type of chills that haunted his dreams and creeped into his veins. From joyful, to almost emotional, the tone switched faster than I could have imagined. Like a boy at his birthday party having the time of his life, but one event reverses his opinion. Jackson got himself together and was back to being normal, whatever you can call normal. "Come on, let's go see what the crazy numb nuts are doing down stairs," Jackson suggested.

"You," I said with concern and stuttered while repeating myself, "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jackson said. I thought it was best to change the topic.

"So, whats 'double U'?" I asked.

"Oh, sorry, sometimes I call the 'Universal Union,'" Jackson said while air quoting, "double U for short. I don't know why I do it, it's just a wacky habit."

"That's stupid."

We went through an opened steel door labeled 'stairs.' These stairwells were showing their age: the decaying metal stair rail and remaining chunks of debris from the bank's infrastructure. A propaganda poster on the wall was fading from it's texture, the image and wording was so strange.

The art took place in the night, an unclear citadel loomed over the horizon. I could only tell because there was a city on fire below the structure that was revealing it. The text wrote, 'The protectors of City 11 have betrayed us in civil unrest and we require your commitment! Give any aid you can to defend our republic against these traitorist radicals! You can report to a City 22 militia or to your local Civil Protection post near you.' When reading this, I felt as if I woke up from a coma, disconnected from civilization or possibly reality itself. I guess the only real positive thing was that I never aged, but what use does that mean when I missed out on so much of everything? I have no idea what is going on or what anything is. Whatever the poster was about, it didn't sound too prosperous. Either way, this whole building was just a huge wasted investment that was thrown in the garbage like an unwanted puppy. What a tragedy, money and profit was left behind in a way of looking at it. While walking down the stairs, I stopped Jackson in his tracks to ask him something.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah Adrian, shoot."

"Who are we even meeting? How do I know this isn't a trap or anything?" Jackson gave my question some thought.

"Well, since you wondered all this way here, I guess it's fair enough to do some explaining." Jackson took a deep inhale from his cigarette and blew out smoke. "So, there are two other people within this bank as I speak, their names are Delmira West and Neil Finley. They're also a part of the Lambdas too, and I think I should be the one doing all the talking: since I know them more personally and they trust me more. Also Delmira isn't really the type of person you wanna mess around with and Neil on the other hand, I have no idea what he thinks, he's always seemed like a kind of a wildcard in my eyes, I don't really-" I cut Jackson off.

"Okay, Jackson, I get it. You don't need to tell me their whole life stories."

"Oh yeah, sorry," Jackson apologized," I guess I'm just worried about what these people might do to you if they got the wrong implications."

"Wrong implications?'" I asked. Jackson took a big inhale from his cigarette again. He then blew a cloud of smoke directly into my face. The taste of nicotine made me wave it away. "Yeah, you know if they got the wrong idea. As in they might try killing you because we've been meaning to feed something to a bullsquid so we could befriend it."

"Wait! What the fuck?!" I screamed in shock. "They might feed me to a what?!"

"A bullsquid," I was confused. "Come on, we were both at Black Mesa. Were we not? You know the..," Jackson stuttered with the details,"it has tentacles on his face and it's got that tail. You know the short little thingys that looks like it came from the ocean or something."

"Oh," I said with realization, "yeah I knew that." Jackson giggled in a quiet sense of joy and said,

"Yeah, I'm sure you do. Then again I don't know if other people call them something else," Jackson stated with wonder. "But we're getting off track. Come on, those two probably know we are here already from all the noise we've been making," Jackson said while descending downstairs into the gloom abyss. I started walking along with him.

"Jackson please don't mess this up," I said with dread.

"Trust me, Adrian, I got this," Jackson said. He seemed to always be sure with himself and never has a doubt about something. If you ask me personally, I'd say Jackson has more confidence and is more optimistic than I could ever be. I would even consider being inspired by it; too bad this is the same person who made a bunch of inadequate and also terrible jokes in the past, if my memory is correct. You know exactly what I am talking about.

After our last step, our bodies went through a narrow hallway with the gray walls of death. More trash, graffiti, and junk; nothing new to discuss. Except for the one thing that stood out from the rest of it all, an opened Combine vault on the left wall with a beaming light coming out of it. The vault door most likely had seen better days, it was damaged and looked as though somebody tore through the combination. Jackson and I walked around and into the bright light; the work lights blinded me, it forced me to block my field of view by using my right hand to protect my eyes. Then, I moved my hand away to get my eyes adjusted. Jackson threw his hands up in the air with excitement and shouted, "Hey guys I'm back! And I brought a friend!"

The vault was filled with lab equipment and research of some kind. Jackson and his friends tried making the vault feel like home; they had their own mattresses and other home accessories. At the ending of the room, there was one tall bright crimson locker. The two rebels were armed with mp5s and they both wore the most common rebel getup; you know, the one with the metrocop vest. One of them, Neil Finley, had a giant black beard like Jackson's before his shave, his clothing was blue, wore a blue beanie and looked around his early thirties. Delmira West looked around her early twenties, short black hair, wore a grey outfit instead of the blue or green, and had no beanie. They both aimed their weapons directly at me without hesitation.

"Owen, who the hell is this guy," screamed the rebel named Neil.

"Hey, hey," repeated Jackson, "guys, no need for the guns."

"Owen, you can't just bring random people here: he could be a spy of some kind or maybe even a goddamn Fallen," screamed the lady named Delmira.

"What, no, Adrian is a truthful man and my longtime friend. If you think that of him then check his eyes if you wanna call my bluff," Jackson said. I was confused about what was happening. Why did they want to check my eyes?

"With pleasure," Delmira said. She walked over to me. "Open your eyes all the way,"Delmira commanded.

"Sorry, but why?" I asked.

"Do it before I lose my patience!" Delmira screamed. I did what she told me to do: I opened my eyes widely. She took out a flashlight that was placed on her hip and shined both of them. "Looks good to me. But he's not in the clear just yet," Delmira stated.

"Guys, I haven't even been in this city for a day and I am already having guns waved at me," I complained. "Can't we all just calm down," I asked.

"Shut your goddamn mouth," ordered Delmira.

"Look, I'm sorry for not letting you two know that I was bringing him here, I only just found out he was here today," Jackson said. "There really wasn't much time to tell you."

"Yet you had the time to shave your beard!" Delmira countered back.

"Owen, we don't even know who this guy is," Neil said.

"Well, to start with, his name is Adrian Shephard and he's a longtime friend of mine," said Jackson. "We were both trained as marines for the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit at the Santego Military Base, which was in Arizona. People would sometimes say H.E.C.U. for short, but I digress. We were sent into Black Mesa to contain the incident and to take out the alien threat. Once we arrived at the facility, our plane Goose 7 was shot down by an alien vessel from Xen. We both, I would say, fought pretty hard to be alive right now. Look: to cut it short, me and him have a history. And I know you still probably don't trust him, but he is generally a good person inside. I am a man who has made many mistakes before in the past," Jackson confessed, ¨but I'm not stupid, I know the risk I'm taking here: letting some random nobody into this hideout of ours is a dangerous idea. But, I found him sleeping in the middle of an alleyway sleeping in garbage. Why would a infiltrator of some kind do something like that? All I can say is just give him a chance. If I am wrong about this, then I will be the one that puts the bullet in him myself. So, what will it be?¨ Jackson only said that to try and appease them, or at least I hope he did. The rebels still aimed their weapons at me, but looked somewhat confused about what Jackson was talking about.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait,¨ Delmira repeated herself several times,¨you were at the Black Mesa Incident?"

"Yes, that is correct, me and him," Jackson answered.

"What the hell is a Arizona?" Asked Neil.

"Um… something you probably won't know."

"Well, what the hell is a marine, isn't that like biology?" Asked Delmira.

"No,¨ Jackson said with a sigh.¨But have you ever heard of boy scouts?" Asked Jackson.

"Well, I have heard rumors," Delmira admitted.

"Okay so it's basically like that, but more extreme," Jackson answered.

"Wait so you guys were cannibals?"

"Ye-," Jackson stopped and said, "Wait what?! No, that's not even close to what they were! Holy shit! Where the hell did you get that from!?" Jackson screamed in shock.

"Now I'm suspicious of you motherfucker!" Screamed Delmira. She aimed her weapon at Jackson. Jackson threw his hands up in the air without a flash.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing?!" Asked Jackson in an outraged voice. "Don't aim your gun at me!"

"Delmira, lower the gun down, Owen isn't a cannibal you idiot," Neil screamed.

"How do you know that!? We've only known him for two weeks and he's just now telling us about his past!" Said Delmira.

"Yeah, but this is Owen we are talking about? Look at him," he pointed at Jackson and Jackson kindly awkwardly smiled back, "does he really look like the kind of guy to be a cannibal?" Asked Neil. ¨Plus, I think your being confused with something else. Like with that one group that existed, The Tribe of Scouts.¨

"Oh yeah, I guess you're right," said Delmira. She aims her gun back at me. Jackson felt some relief and cleaned his throat.

"I also think this guy is alright, I'll give him a chance," Neil confessed. He lowered his weapon down away from me.

"Neil, are you crazy, we still know nothing about this guy," said Delmira.

"Yeah, but do you really want to be here arguing all day? I believe Owen's story because first of all, their not cannibals type and second, everything he just said was very specific," Neil said. Delmira is somewhat convinced and says,

"Alright, fine." She lowers her weapon as well, aiming her muzzle on the ground.

"Okay," Jackson claps his hands together, "that was almost traumatizing and heart wrenching. I don't know if my heart stopped beating there for a second, but I'm still breathing so I guess I'm fine. Now that we are somewhat getting along, I want to talk to Adrian privately. So, if you two could just move along now,¨ Jackson told Neil and Delmira, ¨that would be great.¨

¨Sure, we'll go out and patrol,¨ Neil said, ¨and Delmira no ifs, ands, or buts. Now come on.¨

¨Yeah, whatever you say Neil,¨ Delmira said in a frustrated voice.

¨Before you go, you should take this,¨ Jackson tossed his pink walkie talkie to Neil, he caught it like a pro. ¨Make sure not to drop it and stay updated with Darryl.¨ Neil and Delmira both step out of the vault. While Delmira walked out, she shouldered me, spinning my legs into a circle of chaos to the point of almost collapsing. My view was turned back around to the vault door. They would soon be nonexistent in the area.

¨Man, it looks like you made a new friend, Adrian," Jackson said. He was playing around.

¨Yeah thanks for inviting me to the screaming circus!" I said over sarcastically.

"Hey come on, everything worked out in the end. Didn't it?¨"Jackson asked.

"Yeah barely! And you only knew them for only two weeks?! What the hell is the matter with you?!" I screamed.

"Have I not kept my promise?! We're still standing here are we not?!" Jackson asked while screaming. Jackson then stopped and took a breath. Then he said, "Okay, look, Adrian let's just calm down and lower our voices for a little bit, okay?" Jackson said. "What's done is done, Adrian. I can't fix everything, I'm not a wizard."

"Alright, I'm," I stutter, "I'm sorry, Jackson."

"It's fine. Ay I've got something to show you, over here." Jackson took me to the red locker that was across the vault; I knew something was significant about this locker. Jackson then took out a keyring from his pocket with a tremendous amount of keys. The first two keys he tried using didn't fit or work. But, the third key he tried worked and he said, "Well, third time's a charm." He unlocked the locker to show me what was inside. The locker had a rebel uniform, but a more modified version. Instead of including a metro police vest, it had a standard-issue Overwatch vest with an orange spray painted lambda on the front of it. The long sleeve shirt was green, there were blue jeans, black gloves, there was a Combine overwatch helmet with green visors and on top of the helmet was spray painted green. The locker also contained a gray Russian tanker hat; it was used by Soviets who operated tanks throughout the Second World War, that's at least my understanding of the history behind it. There was a brown wool double breasted coat in the locker as well; it looked worn and beat up, but looked as if somebody was still trying to take care of it. "You see that armor, Adrian?" Jackson asked. He casually pointed with his index finger.

¨Jackson,¨ I asked, ¨why are you showing me this?¨

¨Because I want you to have the amour. I was thinking about how you could help us, you honestly could be vital and a perfect member for our little organization,¨ Jackson explained.¨I'm not exactly in the fighting shape as I used to be because I'm coming to that age; but you on the other hand, the armour seems like it could fit you. We're actually on a little secret mission that I didn't tell you about, I'm working for somebody named Doctor Rosalind Gosling, this is all of her research you see?¨ Jackson said while pointing at the computers.¨She originally made it for me, but obviously, I don't want it. Everything in here is yours, well except for the coat and hat because I actually like those. But, Dr. Rosalind has some kind of plan about City 22, she wants to tell me about it in person. So, you interested?¨ I was silent and stared at him. The scene was quiet, the only thing I had a better chance of fucking hearing was one of the light bulbs burning.

¨What do you want me to say to that?¨ I asked.¨Was Black Mesa not enough trauma for us?! All the friends we lost, the horror we saw together! All the messed up shit that happened down there! Ringing a bell?!¨ I screamed.¨We were betrayed by our own fucking government! Why the hell would I want to go back into combat after that?! I would rather want to get my life back in order and try to fix myself! But nooooo, you want me to join your little fucking tea party! So, NO, I'm not interested! I just wanted to talk to you because you're the only person I know who is still alive! I don't know what happened to my family and friends or if they are dead or not! I don't want there to be a chance of losing you too dumbass!¨ Everything I said had bounced off the walls, within us and out. Jackson had no words for me, he was empty from the top to his knees.

¨Look, Adrian,¨ Jackson said before swallowing like something was stuck in his throat,¨I don't want to force you into our cause. I'll admit that the Lambdas ain't perfect people and I joined them for my own reasons. But I get where your coming from. I just thought you would be on board for some action, plus some help would be nice for my trip, but I understand what you want. In fact,¨ Jackson said while grabbing two white buckets and turning them over to place them on the ground,¨let's forget everything I just said. Let's just talk, like you wanted,¨ Jackson sat down. ¨I think we can kill some time before I move out, maybe there's some drinks around here too.¨

¨Thanks, Jackson, I don't think I could withstand another fight like that,¨ I sit down,¨I barely made it out of the last one with my bones intact. Also, I didn't mean to lash out on you like that, it all kind of came out. It was something that I couldn't control,¨ Jackson accepted my long exclusive statement of trying to say 'I'm sorry,' but he shrugged it off like it was nothing and was perfectly fine with the results. ¨All I can say Jackson is: good luck on your mission."

¨Thanks, Adrian, your words mean a lot, even your earlier words there had some impact,¨ Jackson tried joking. We hear the stomps coming down closer and closer.¨Wait,¨ Jackson said with concern,¨what's that?¨ Around the corner came the rush of Delmira and Neil, both were horrified.

¨Owen, we have a problem! Darryl just called in that the Combine know our whereabouts! We need to leave now!¨ Delmira Screamed.

¨Oh shit…¨ Jackson said quietly. Jackson jumped up from the bucket and ran over to the locker. ¨Delmira and Neil, I need you both to wipe those computers so the Combine doesn't take everything from them!¨ Jackson screamed.

¨Isn't that Dr. Gosling's research?¨ Neil asked.

¨I'm not dying over Dr. Rosalind's research! Last time I checked, I'm pretty sure our lives are worth more! The only good thing we can do is destroy that data before the Combine gets their hands on it!¨ Delmira and Neil obey and rush over to the computers. Jackson snatched his coat and hat like there was no time left, he didn't even button his coat. He also got back his walkie talkie from Neil. Then Jackson took the armor that he showed me and threw it toward me. The armor flew in the air and fell to the ground with a loud puff impact sound hitting my shoes. I looked at it with a face of discomfort and had more unsettled veins than a cat crossing paths with a dog. I look back up and see that Jackson is looking through a red toolbox.

¨Jackson I can't wear this,¨ I said. Jackson came up to me.  
¨Look Adrian, I know exactly how you feel. But this is a DO or DIE situation! The Combine will know who you are and try to kill you. Whether you wanted to get involved or not, you're now in the crossfire and there is no going back. If I could, I would let you stay out of this, but it seems that fate has decided. So in case you'll need to defend yourself, I got this thing,¨ Jackson goes through the red tool box, ¨I don't remember us ever getting this but here, take it Adrian!¨ Jackson lifted up a red pipe wrench and handed it to me. I knew right as I saw it that it was a gift from that government man himself: Jackson didn't even recall having it. I remember looking down at the pipe wrench that I had against my chest. I lifted it up into the air to see the whole tool, I felt as if I was pressed into this and that there really were no directions to go in; some would say that it is an illusion of choice, which feels ironic. Jackson was right, I did not want to believe him, but I knew in my deep consciousness that every millisecond of what he had said was terribly true. I was present and they would be here any minute now, it didn't look good on paper. Sure, it was not persistent of me, but I went through with it so I could stay alive. I looked back down at the lifeless armour that was on the floor before me, I tried my best to get it on quickly and grabbed the pipe wrench. Delmira and Neil cleared the computers, Jackson was ready and I guess so was I. We all ran out of the vault and made our way back up to the middle of the lobby. We stopped in place because Jackson was trying to familiarize himself with where to go next; he didn't know where exactly to go because there were many escape routes.

"If it wasn't for this asshole right here, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Delmira screamed while pointing at me.

"Hey what's your problem, I didn't do anything that would have led them here!" I screamed.

"Yeah, that's what they all say!" Delmira screamed.

"Hey Delmira, calm down, I'm sure Adrian didn't cause any of this," Neil said. I paused for a second there and I thought about what she had said. I remembered something from earlier on my way here.

"Well, there was that one Fisher guy," I said to myself.

"Wait, Adrian what are you talking about?" Neil asked. I didn't have time to answer him because Jackson interrupted us.

"Look, there's no time to be pointing fingers at who did what or who's fault this is! I know where we could go now, it's over here-" Jackson stopped, he was dead silent. Jackson then said, ¨Did you guys hear something?¨ We hear something behind the front walls, it is being messed around with. We couldn't prove what it was, but something was behind it. That is when we knew they were already there.

¨Oh fuck,¨ Delmira says softly. She aimed her mp5 at the wall and started unloading her gun. I heard Neil say something like,

¨Wait Delmira sto-¨ those were all the words that I hear from Neil before a giant explosion erupted. We were all kicked back on to the concrete floor, smoke took half of the room, and my ear could not stop ringing. The only thing I could hear was that there were a handful of other gun fires, I didn't know who though. Approaching from the smoke, Jackson crawled over to me and I think he tried telling me that we had to get out of there; he pulled my hand up and got me back on my feet. The smoke started to clear a little bit. I noticed the barnacle from earlier, it had gotten Neil. I guess when we were forced back Neil was caught by the barnacle, I think it broke his neck before it could eat him. Jackson and I ran all the way to this door at the end of the room with viewless people in the smoke behind us. We then shut the door and Jackson had locked it with one of his keys that was colored blue.

The room we entered was like a filing cabinet room of some kind and there was a massive hole in the wall that led outside; in time, this place will probably be more known for its holes than for it's actual structure. I was starting to hear better, Jackson was saying,

¨I know where we can go to escape these bastards! Just follow me, Adrian, we need to leave this place!¨

¨You don't say, Jackson?!¨ I screamed sarcastically. Jackson and I hopped over the debris and we were finally outside. Whatever Jackson's plan was, it better be a good one.

It was all a chilling thought in my imagination of going back into action; yet here I stand, missing everything I had before.

End of Chapter II

RRKMGJG XUPG

March 17, 2020

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

Well, I guess I got motivation to continue writing this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as I did. This chapter has been done for a little while now, the most difficult part for me was releasing it: it's just been hard for me because of personal reasons and setbacks. But it's now here. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure why I wanted to come back to Missing in Action, there are many reasons I guess. Maybe it was the announcement of Half-life Alyx that got me interested into continuing my own story, or maybe it was just boredom. I had some days where I thought about where I could take this plot and the ideas that were floating through my head I really liked. So, am I going to keep writing this story? Probably, I would like to see where I take it; however, knowing me, there's a possibility of me being inactive or just me being lazy and never getting around to it, but hopefully that is not the case. If you have, or if there are, any problems with my story, my ears are open.

My YouTube channel name is "Elephants Doing Crack," yes that is the name of it.

Anyways, I hope chapter three will be made as soon as possible and we see what else Shephard has to go through.


	3. Chapter 3 - Red Arrival

_Missing in __λction _

_Chapter III: Red Arrival _

I was thinking about the past. I was so different. If I can call correctly, I always liked looking for action and had no idea of the future. I know that only one of those two things are now false. I guess I joined the military so I could say I found a 'career path.' I forget how the rest of it went though, I can't quite remember. But, there was a part of me who liked being up close and personal; but things have changed and nothing will ever go back to normal. Is that what time is? The evolution of change? From my experience, I guess so. But there's always a reason for something, even if it's ridiculous, unknown or thought out. I know Black Mesa was my change.

After Jackson and I tried escaping from the bank, we ran into an immense forest. Everything about this environment had been altered compared to the last time I saw nature: the Xen wildlife was consuming and inhabiting the planet (or at least that part of Earth). The grass was colored with a mix of gray, dark purple, and the Earth color green. All of the trees were growing Xen plant roots, when it came around the trees' final time they would be replaced.

Behind us was City 22, but only a part of it; the sector was falling apart, ancient history, neglected and abandoned. So much urban development and infrastructure to not be used anymore.

While sprinting through the forest, I tripped over a log and fell on my face; Jackson had to pull me back up on my feet. There were many paths Jackson and I could have gone in, however, Jackson had a trick under his sleeves and seemed like he knew where he was going. At the time, I thought it was probably best to be beside him rather than against him.

Jackson led me to an abandoned mine station named the "Black Eagle Mines." I could tell this wasn't the first time Jackson was here: he knew where he was going. Jackson placed a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.  
"Okay, Adrian, listen to me," Jackson said, "we're gonna fool those bastards into going in the wrong direction."

"Alrighty, sounds good to me, I'm listening," I said in a heavily breathing voice. "What did you have in mind?" Jackson blew some smoke.

"You see that gate over there," Jackson pointed with his cigarette at a gate across from us, "that gate leads to the antlion caves." I didn't like the sound of antlions.

"Ahh," I sighed in disgust, "Jackson I don't want to deal with that. I hate bugs." I was talking about the other antlions, not the ones Jackson was talking about.

"Hey," Jackson said, "who said we were gonna go down those caves?" Jackson had a completely different idea.

"What?" Jackson inhaled another breath of nicotine and blew more.

"Now hear me out: let's make it seem like we went down there, so that way, the Combine will be misled and we'll be off scot-free. Now going down is actually a pretty good idea to outrun them. But why go through those damn bugs?" Jackson asked. "I don't like them either, just like you ."

"If it gets us in the clear, then let's do it." Jackson aggressively pads my left shoulder and says,

"Now that's the spirit!"

Jackson went into one of the buildings and opened the gate through the control panel inside. While waiting, I stepped back a little bit and scared a Light Stalk. The Light Stalk went out and decided to rest, it seemed like there was less light outside even though it was sunny. I looked back at the building to see Jackson walking out. Then, we both went through the gate and to the door that would be the leading factor: the door that led to the caves. The only problem was how it had a lock on it.

"Damn," Jackson said while looking at the lock with disappointment. "Well, I can't really blame myself, I normally would take the elevator over there," Jackson pointed.

"Don't worry, I got this," I swing my pipe wrench at the combination lock and it breaks from the knob.

"Well done, Adrian," Jackson said while being impressed.

The doors led down to a flight of concrete stairs, nothing but darkness. Jackson had a light bulb in his brain, "Hey, Adrian, check this out," he reached in his coat's pocket and threw a used cigarette down the abyss. "That will draw more suspension." He was right about that...

"Why do you have a used cigarette in your jacket?" I asked.

"Oh Adrian," Jackson giggled, "I have alot of things in this coat. Some of this stuff I don't even remember having and some of it is best not to think about." Jackson changed the topic back to serious, "Okay, but seriously, I think that's that."

"Wait," I said, "how do we know if this will work?"

"You know, I was thinking the same thing, so that's why I was thinking of this option. Come over here I'll show you."

Jackson brought me into the same building where he operated the gate. He showed me a rug that was on the ground. I looked back up at him.

"Jackson," I said with a pause, "that's a rug."

"Look underneath it." I sigh and crouch down; I lift up the rug to then look at a wooden floorboard. I'm still confused, so I look at the bottom of the rug itself to still find nothing.

"There's still nothing here," I state.

"Now that's what I love to hear!" Jackson says in excitement. I am even more baffled than before. "Check this out." Jackson kneels down and lifts up the floorboard; behind the flooring was a hole that was man-made, enough for two people. The trap door blended in with the solid wooden flooring, it looked nothing out of the ordinary.

"Holy shit, this might actually work," I said.

"See, I know what I'm doin-."

"But," I interrupted, "I don't see why we would do this: mostly because of how risky this is since we'll be under their feet."

"When you put it that way, it is pretty deranged and dangerous. But, you didn't even notice it, that just shows the concealment behind it."

"Yeah, it isn't noticeable, but I think we should just keep on moving until we lose them." After I said that, my attention went to the window where red lights were approaching. They came from the same woodland we came out of. "Hey Jackson what's that?" I asked. Jackson turns around and sees what I saw.

"Oh shit!" Jackson screamed in fear. "Adrian we don't have a choice, get in this hole!" Jackson noticed that he was still smoking. "Oh god damn it, I'm still smoking!" I slapped the cigarette out of his mouth for it to fall into the hole. I then jumped into the hiding spot and used my boot to rub on Jackson's mess.

"Jackson if we make it out of this I'm going to fucking kill you." Mainly for giving me another useless choice. Jackson jumped down after me.

"Yeah in your dreams, Adrian." Jackson then closed the trap door.

Center of the room, underground, Jackson and I waited. After we went down, we heard them outside, moving around and searching for us for a couple of minutes. Precisely at the right time, Jackson had pulled out a Makarov from his pocket, I was enraged that I had a pipe wrench and he had an actual sidearm. The Makarov is a useful firearm because it can be well-hidden in an individual's pocket and is usually easy to shoot with. Unless Jackson got the weapon out of nowhere, I guess he wasn't lying about his coat. Regularly for Jackson, he always seemed to find it hard to let go of the past, it explains his coat issue. Easily enough, we soon heard the Combine through the wood. Didn't see them, only heard their conversations.

"Oh, Lieutenant Felix, it's honor sir, how are you doing on this fine morning?" A Metrocop asked, he sounded young.

"Did you just call me a lieutenant?! I'm a lieutenant colonel!" The Metrocop named 'Felix' corrected him. "And what the fuck is wrong with your uniform?! You have one light out and you don't even have matching colored boots!"

"I'm deeply sorry sir, it's my first day on the job," said the nervous Metrocop, "and I came in a hurry, sir."

"Wait," Felix said, "your the new guy who's replacing our medic, right?"

"Yes sir," the rookie said.

"Pues mierda," Felix says silently to himself. "Sorry for my attitude, I don't normally do that to the new guys since they're new. I've read some of your files, your name's Joseph Calvin?"

"Yes sir," Calvin answered, "May I ask what happened to the other medic?-" Felix interrupts him and drops his question.

"Hey," I hear the sounds of patting, "calm down, it's okay to stop shaking. Also you don't have to call me, 'sir,' do I look like the Senator to you?"

"No, sorry for that sir." There was some silence.

"We'll work on these problems," Felix says. He then changes the topic, "Alright Captain, what happened here?"

"Well sir, since you weren't here, I was under command for the attack. We ambushed the Lambda hideout around eight o'clock-" Felix interrupts.

"Wait, LAMBDA?!" A shocked Felix screamed, "Holy shit! We've never dealt with them before, you don't see too many of them that often. Well now I have something new to put on my record," the Captain continues.

"Their hideout was at the abandoned bank that's not far from here, it used to be part of City 22," Felix interrupts again.

"Oh you mean the bank that we just decided to leave behind? As well as the rest of that area?" Felix asked in a sarcastically and antagonistic tone. There was more silence. "Sorry, go on, Captain."

"When we tried breaching their sanctuary, they blew up our own charge by shooting through the wall. From that raid alone, we have one KIA and two WIA. The new medic over there said they would pull through. But, we did kill some of the Lambdars during our-" Felix interrupts once more.

"Okay, mission accomplished! What are we still doing here?" Felix asked. "I know they were attacking you, but it would have been better if we were able to capture them."

"Well sir, there seems to be two left," the Captain breaking the news. There is a long awkward silence.

"Captain," Felix said, "how long have you been with this company?"

"For a while-"

"Yeah, 'for a while' now to be promoted to a captain. So, you must know our reputation?" Asked Felix.

"Yes, of course, I've been on those missions. We always get the job done."

"Yet you lost two Lambdars when you were in-command?"

"Well I mean," the Captain stutters, "they're still around here somewhere-"

"Captain, you have failed Red Company," Felix said.

Jackson had the look of confusion, but seemed like he had heard the name before. Then his deja vu struck him, he came over to my ear and whispered how he heard about them in the news and that they are 'bad news.' Felix then said, "and for that, you can no longer be trusted. You disappointed me black eyes."

I heard a gunshot go off and heard something hitting the ground. The sounds of somebody choking on their own blood. He sounded like he was struggling to move around, his legs were kicking the ground back and forth. Then another gunshot was fired, nothing came out again from him. Then Felix said, "Yeah! Take that you hijo de puta!"

All of a sudden, the Captain's blood was sliding into our hiding spot. This was bad news for us; if they lift up the rug, then they could possibly notice that the blood is mostly going downwards, which could lead them to find out there's a trapdoor.

"Sir was that necessary?!" Screamed the scared medic.

"Why should I care? His kind is disposable anyways."

The only thing I was thinking in my head was, 'what the hell is the matter with this guy?' I had to feel sympathy for the medic because he saw the whole thing, unlike me.

"So what, are they here at the mines or something?" Felix asked.

"We umm..," another Metrocop was talking but stuttered with his wording, I couldn't blame him, "we think the prosecutors went through the antlions caves. Through that gate."

"Maybe. Any opinions from you Detective Greger?" Asked Felix. The name came out of nowhere, nor me or Jackson knew who this detective was.

"Let's review the evidence we've undercovered," Greger said. He had this high-pitch voice to him, a suspiciously high one too. "So, we can all agree that those rebels are here at the mines? Here's how: their hideout was not far from here, foot trails lead here and something looks like it tripped over a log in the woods, that gate is open, and finally the nearby door is open with a used cigarette being tossed to the side," Greger revalues. "Also they used a cigarette that is not Combine made, they bought an legal one."

"Oh, now they are definitely dead," Felix said sarcastically.

"There is no time for joking around!" Greger screamed. "But there are other details everyone else here didn't notice: this control panel is dusty and you can see the spots where they pushed, that Light Stalk over there looks tried like something came by it-"

"Okay, Greger," Felix interrupts, "what does this prove? We have all the evidence we need, let's go down there and get'em."

"Yes," Greger admits, "all of our evidence points to them going down into the antlion caves. But didn't this seem too easy?" There was a silent pause. "I mean, why didn't they at least try covering up their tracks? This just feels like a bait. Now most criminals aren't masterminds, but this is a new low. I'm only saying this because if they could erase those computers back at the bank, you would think they would try to be smart here as well."

"Do you think they didn't go down there or something, Detective?" Calvin asked.

"Well, to be honest," Greger admitted once more, "I don't know. There's no evidence that says they didn't go down there. So, I guess we go."

"Alright, let's move out!" Felix shouted. "I'll send most of my men in those caves and the rest will be up here, just in case."

"Wait," Greger stalled.

"What?" Felix asked.

"I smell smoke, like a smoke that came from a cigarette." He was talking about Jackson's cigarette from earlier.

"Yeah, no shit, that's why there's a cigarette down those stairs. They possibly smoked it in this room too. Now let's go!"

"But, I was just down there, I didn't smell that much smoke compared to this room. Isn't it a bit odd how there's more smell of smoke in this room than down the stairs where they had 'escaped' from?" Greger asked.

"Sir, it's probably just me," Calvin says.

"Why you?" Greger asks.

"I smoke alot, sir, that smell is possibly all over me."

"Oh," Greger thinks. Jackson and I went back to control ourselves, it was going to work out after all. Back then I wanted to thank the rookie, too bad he wasn't on our side.

"Greger, we're done here, let's go find them before they escape," Felix orders.

"Okay," Greger accepting defeat. They were all walking out and were going to carry on. But then Greger stopped and he asked, "Wait, when and where did you smoke?"

"Oh, sometime when I got on the scene, back at the bank."

"Why do you think it was you? That was almost an hour ago, this smells recent. In fact," Greger stepped back, "it's like as if the closer I go over here, the more I smell it..." His footsteps pressure against the decaying wooden flooring, with each step coming closer to contact with us. He stopped and whispered to himself, "...near the Captain's blood."

"Are we done here, Detective, or not?" Calvin asked kindly.

"In just a moment, rookie," Greger answers in hesitation. We both hear more noises dropping down onto the wood, and then in a distant flash, we hear the sound of wool being lifted. "Mmmm," Greger hums to himself, "That's a little strange, why is the Captain's-" Greger stops. Pure silence.

Jackson had the face of horror, and I had never felt my heart beating this fast since Black Mesa; to be honest, I thought I could almost hear it. At least at Black Mesa, I had the equipment to deal with situations like these, but not anymore. Jackson and I were ready for them. The only thing that went through my head was what would happen next. There was still silence within the room.

Then we saw it: a reveal of white light coming from an opened hatch. Jackson unloaded his weapon by spreading and praying upwards. Footsteps were heard running away as quickly as my ears going death again. One of the Metrocops screamed,

"Get away from the floor! Move outside!" My guess was that most of them had run outside. After creating tiny holes into the wood, Jackson had ran out of ammo and tried reaching for another in his coat. But with so much junk and lack of organization in his coat, his scrambling was getting him nowhere.

I heard, with what little hearing I had left, stomps running closer to us. It was the medic that was mentioned earlier, his comrades told him to stay back but he did the opposite. Calvin opened the trap door all the way and smacked Jackson on top of his head with an Standard Issue Pulse Rifle. Everyone else above ran over to try and assist Calvin. Hands started pulling Jackson out while he tried to get loose; I on the opposite hand was lifeless, too scared to move a muscle, they too pulled me out.

So there we were, Jackson and I, on wooden flooring scared for our lives; Jackson was begging and crying about how he didn't want to die. We both were covered in the Captain's red blood; how iconic it was that he had 'failed' his mission, but he is what helped find us. I looked up and noticed everything about this group of Metrocops: they looked, for the most part, like normal Metropolice but with more gear on them, they had a red theme to their uniforms and to their eyes (like they were a part of some kind of regiment), grey pants and mostly issued AR2s. My eyes then looked at two figures who really rubbed me the wrong way.

The first one was some miniature person: blonde hair, white suit, a hat and a yellow tie on him. He was probably Detective Greger.

The second was a Metrocop, he wore a regular Metropolice uniform designed to his liking: green pants, black trench coating, painted over the white lining with red, drew a simple X across his chest plate, his mask had red glowing eyes and a giant red handprint laid across it. I lied on the ground observing him, face to face. His cold scarlet like eyes just looked at me, I've never shivered over a human being like this before; what really scared me was what he was capable of. Felix looked over to my shoulder and said,

"Good job, Calvin! That was really brave of you. But DON'T ever do something like that ever again."

"Yes, sir." Felix looks back at the Captain and muttered to himself,

"Damn, maybe he really was meant for something," Felix's final words to him were, "Thanks for your help." Felix crouched down toward Jackson and said, "Calm down, we're not going to harm you. Despite the fact you killed one of our guys, we killed two of your guys, so I'll say that's pretty fair." Felix thought to himself, "Well technically, two of our guys died. So I guess it's a tie."

"You fucking maniac!" Jackson cried out.

"Maniac?" Felix asks. He goes closer to Jackson "Your the ones who opened fire on us first. Oh wait," Felix forgets, "you did it two times. What the fuck did you want us to do?! Run out into the field and die?! For once I thought you Lambdars would be different, but you're just like the other rebels: it's like talking to a brick wall. They just don't listen to any kind of reason. Take their stuff," Felix orders. The Metros try taking all of our belongs, Felix gently pulls Jackson's right hand out and asks,

"You have an interesting ring here, pal," Felix pointed. I didn't notice that Jackson was wearing a ring on his ring finger the whole time. I couldn't see much from where I was. Jackson changed tones, he was more aggressive now.

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH THAT!" Jackson screamed while somehow getting free and punching Felix in the face. The group of Metro Cops slammed Jackson on to the ground and tried holding him off. Felix stood back up, his right mask lense was broken and cracked. I saw a glimpse of what was behind it, I saw his eye glow red. I don't know how but it was. Felix aggressively walked over to Jackson and kicked him in the face. Blood splitted on to the floor and Felix screamed,  
"I tried being nice to you two but all you can do is keep being hostile!" This was my breaking point, I had violently Shrugged off the two Metrocops keeping me hold and tried running over to Felix. My fist was about to go against Felix's mask. But, then somebody hit me on the back of my head. I fell to the ground and everything went black. I'm not sure who it was, but I knew that we had lost this struggle.

There was still a lasting grasp of life left in me, my vision was blurry and I think I was on some sort of transport train. But I couldn't stay awake forever. Time was behind me, what I last saw had already concluded. Only thing there was was a new problem.

End of Chapter III

**23 8 25 **

**4 9 4 **

**25 15 21 **

**3 18 1 **

**3 ****11 20 **

**8 ****9 19**


	4. Chapter 4 - Lysosome Structure

_Missing in λction_

_Chapter IV: Lysosome Structure_

I had a dream about somebody I knew a long time ago. I remember it was back sometime in 6th grade, I was picked on a lot by people and felt alone. I find out the reasons for these encounters the more I grow older, it's pretty simple of why actually: I was easy to _m_a_n_i_p_u_l_a_t_e. But there was one person who wanted to be my 'friend' and betrayed me beyond words. I don't think I should use his name, for o_bv_i_ou_s reasons. So I met Frank in math class and he seemed like a generous person and we had a lot in common. He asked for my food every time we had lunch; knowing my friendly brain at the time, I would always give his demands. It may not sound like much, but when it happens _every since_ day it starts to really get on your nerves. But one day, everything changed: Frank's tone and personality altered in a one-eighty, he had started hanging out with other people and the only thing they wanted, it seemed, was my food. It was as if Frank (_Chad_) had died and been replaced with another person. They made fun of me for not knowing how to read, called me "ugly," thought who I was was somebody to only make fun of. I kept giving them my food because I thought the problem would go away, since they got what they wanted. But I've learned overtime, some people just want to watch you burn and scrabble. The type of people who care less if you make valid points and will do whatever it takes until they have triumphed. They would always try 'apologizing' to me, in a way that made you feel like you were two years old or had the attention span of a goldfish. I thought to myself at the time, 'if _Chad_ wanted to be somebody else, then so be it.' It made me want to stop all communication with him. But they still hungered for my lunch and wouldn't stop bugging me about it. Thereafter, I continued to throw my lunch in the garbage or just didn't bring it to school. Then guess what happened? They stopped. I bring this up because it all seems so strange to me nowadays: those events made me contemplate on _ending_ it all, the teachers did literally nothing to stop them even when I told them about it, and I can't see why they, or anyone else for that matter, would continue to go through with it and live with themselves. Like a crazy dream where everyone has no pants. And that's what it feels like, a dream. _But it did happen._ I'm not really sure why I'm talking about this, maybe I'm still trying to sort everything out over here. If you keep feeding lies and corrupting yourself, then will you remember who you were? That's what happened to_ CHAD_, corrupted with gluttony and fame; he took my heart and stomped on it until there was blood everywhere, killing our 'friendship.' I've moved on, of course I have, those types of events almost feel like nothing to me nowadays. But it was the one that changed my perspective on some things: it told me that the world can be cruel and that it isn't always sunshine and rainbows. If I could say anything to _Chad_, and I almost wish I wanted to, I would ask "Was it worth it?"

There was darkness, emptiness black. My eyelids were difficult to open, slightly awaking and closing back on me. Everything was blurry, the only thing I could make out was the color yellow. The light was too bright, Illuminating on me. I woke up faster than a dog hearing the doorbell at the front door, my head turned in random directions trying to figure out where I was.

I was cuffed to a table and on a steel chair. The room was dark, there was only one light source that hung over the table. A one way mirror across from us. I was wearing orange clothing and had a device on my right leg. Everything I had before was gone; from the top, to the bottom of surveillance.

To my left, I saw Jackson cuffed to the same table while looking at his ring finger. The ring that was there was gone, nowhere to be seen. He was wearing the same clothing as me, and his face was beat up with blood coming out of his mouth and a black eye on his left oculus eyeball. I tried to scoot over to Jackson and I said in a shaky hurried voice, "Jackson!" I screamed in desperation. Jackson still just continued to look at his right hand. "Holy shit. What happened? What is this place? Are you okay?" Jackson then adjusted his head upwards and looked right where my eyes were coming from.

"Oh, Adrian, you're awake," Jackson said in a casual and dry voice. "Did you have any nice dreams?" Jackson joked.

"Jackson stop playing around! We need to get out of here."

"Adrian, how are we going to do that?" Jackson asked. "There's nothing we can do in our current situation, it's pretty grim from where we're sitting."

"How are you so calm about this?!" I asked.

"Well, from how I see it, if they would have wanted to kill us, they probably would have done it alrighty. Plus it's not like they have that kind of power anyways," Jackson knew. "They also knocked you out pretty good, but they got some hits out of me as well."

"Are you gonna be okay?" I asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just worried about something else," Jackson looked at his right hand for a quick second. It was the past creeping up on Jackson, something he couldn't let go. For him, it must feel like driving over dead bodies and looking into the rear view mirror and seeing a sea of death. Then reversing the vehicle to see who you ran over.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"To be honest with you, I don't know. I do know we were Captured by the OCPA. So I guess a Combine base of some kind."

"The OCP- what?!" I asked.

"You know, one of the City 22 agencies," Jackson stated. "Oh yeah, you're new here," Jackson 'remembered.' "It stands for the 'Outdoor Civil Protection Agency.'" I was reminded of the old world of how we had agencies. I look back at the table, looking away from Jackson and asked,

"So what now?" Jackson laid back and looked at the ceiling.

"Hey, Adrian?" Jackson asked.

"What?"

"What do you call a sleeping bull?"

"Jackson I don't care," I said while getting fatigued.

"A bulldozer," Jackson delivered the punch line.

"Wow, I wonder how long it took you to come up with that?"

"Yeah, just trying to lighten up the situation anyway I can," Jackson confessed.

A couple of minutes passes, no sound or talk. Me and Jackson waited for whomever to come and greet us. We knew the obvious, we were in some kind of interrogation room.

In the darkness, metal material was heard being swung across, to then closing back in place. Multiple footstep sounds on the same floor as us, each step came closer to the table. The only thing I could make out was that there were two glowing red eyes coming to us. This would be a horrifying movie if you were watching it. But the worst part for me was that I couldn't find the remote to change the channel and I had gotten the best seats in the house. _Truly trapped._

"Well, well, well," said a filter voice in the distance, "here we are again. Now hopefully we can have a friendly conversation," the mysterious figure stepped into the light and was visible, "face to face." It was the lieutenant colonel from earlier, Felix was his name. Hiding behind his repaired mask like he did before. Another figure came out of the shadows, it was the same detective that was on the scene with Felix, Greger. He said,

"Good afternoon gentlemen, I have a couple of questions for you two." They both sit across from us. Felix is in my face, as Greger is in Jackson's.

"We're not answering any of your questions," Jackson stated. "You guys beat us up and killed my associates. How are we supposed to trust you? Can't I atleast get some kind of lawyer or somebody to speak for us?"

"Well maybe if you tried cooperating with us and didn't resist all the time, none of this would be happening! I honest to god would love to see a lawyer try defending you two." Greger screamed. Felix pads Greger on his shoulder trying to calm him down.

"Hey, Greger, calm down," Felix trying to ease the tension down. "Look, these two are getting on my last nerves just as much as they are for you. I would like to get this solved as soon as possible, but he obviously doesn't trust us." He looks at us. "I think the best course of action for us to get on the same page here: is to tell you about Greger and I."

"Lieutenant colonel, let me do my work and I'll let you do yours-" Felix interrupts him before finishing his sentence.

"Come on, let's at least try it out." Felix looks back at us again. I guess Greger gave in with giving him a shot. Felix scoots his chair up against the table and leans in to us. "My name is lieutenant colonel Alejandro Felix, I'm an agent for the OCPA as part of the 111th RED Company, or the 111th Company or just Red Company is fine. I've served for six years for the OCPA and two as a Civil Protection officer. Some would say I have an impressive record and I guess they would be right, since we have rarely failed a mission, case, or a task given to us. Basically, I've been around this system for a while now, I'm twenty-six years old and that's kind of what's off the top of my head," Felix said. "Greger, now you go." Greger had disguised in his look, but he went with it.

"I'm Detective Rudolph Greger, I also work for 111th RED Company of the OCPA. I'm fourteen years old and I also have a…" Jackson chuckles.

"Alright, cut the shit, there is no way you are fourteen. That's impossible."

"It is true. I'm not sure how exactly my birth went, but I have some theories: my mother must have given birth to me somewhere underground or a place where there wasn't much of the suppression fields to kill me. But, I don't know." It had all made sense: his high pitched voice, his height, and his brattiness. Though at the time, like everything else, I didn't know what they weren't talking about.

"Oh my god, your serious aren't you?" Jackson stuttered with his words, "I can't even remember the last time I saw a real human kid. This is amazing! I don't even know what to say!" Jackson said in joy. "Hey hey hey," Jackson repeated to get the boy's attention, "check this out." Jackson did a magic trick for the kid, he did the one where he 'takes apart' his finger.

"What are you doing?" Greger asked. "You're just moving your thumb against your index back and forth."

"Wow," Jackson said in sarcasm, "the first real kid I meet after all these years is just some buzzkill. I quit," he joked.

"Now will you answer my questions? We played your little game," Greger asks.

"What?" Jackson asking for the questions.

"I mainly have three questions to ask, but I'll make it quick. First question: what was on those computers?"

"Nothing," Jackson answers.

"Unbelievable. We told you what there is to know about us, and all you can do is lie. Look, I'm sorry for hitting and beating on you, but this would be so much easier if you just worked with us," Felix asked as kindly as possible without trying to break.

"No," Jackson answered.

"Owen is it?" Greger asked. "You know, I saw how you were about that little ring you had. It would be a real shame if something awful happened to it." Jackson looked at Greger.

"You little brat, you wouldn't dare! You can't do that!" Jackson said in a fit of rage.

"Ah, good, I got more than one word out of you. Now, I know a steel factory back in City 22, and I'm pretty sure they don't have any problems with the abolishment and obliteration of a certain ring. You better start talking or I will resort to exactly that!" Slamming his fist on the table, "And you better tell the god damn truth because you mean to tell me that all of those computers in that vault had nothing on them and served no purpose?!" Greger asked while pointing at Jackson. "I find that hard to believe."

"Okay, fine, I'll tell you," Jackson said. Jackson scooted against the desk, "I'm not a scientist, but I'll explain the best way I can with my understanding." Jackson took a deep breath and exhaled. "We were looking into Xen plants to see if we could use them as a biological weapon of some kind. Maybe it was spores or something. I'm not an expert on the details, but apparently, we didn't find anything useful for our cause."

"Better than saying nothing, even if it's true or not."

"But we both thank you for your cooperation," Felix says.

"Alright, my second question is: why did you attack us?" Greger asked.

"I guess we were just scared, I'm not sure why I did it especially. Maybe fear, we thought you meant try killing us."

"I don't even know why I asked, it's a similar answer I get every time. Have you ever thought that maybe what you're doing is wrong?! You are involved with people that get other people killed!" Greger says in anger. Felix then jumps in the conversation.

"Hey don't guilt trick him, he didn't kill that kid. It could always end worse, we had one KIA so it'll be fine."

"Lieutenant Colonel, we lost two people remember?" Greger reminded him.

"Oh yeah, sure," Felix said with neglect. "But let's move to the next question."

"Alright," Greger looks at his notepads and says," You know what? I have another separate question to ask. I should have wrote it down. My question is: what do you know about the Lambdars?"

"Not much, I joined them like three or two weeks ago. I knew the Lambdas for a little while, giving them stuff and dealings, but then I thought I should join officially."

"So who gave you the results of that research? Surely you must know somebody right? None of those two individuals were doctors. So how do you know?" Greger asked.

"Man you're asking way more than 'three' questions. But those two people you killed knew more than me, they knew some scientist on top of the food chain, I can't give you a name that I don't know," Jackson lying to them.

"Okay, now my actual final question," Greger stood up slowly, "we know everything about you Mr. Owen Jackson, you're a well known criminal and fugitive of Civil Protection records. You need no introduction."

"Oh hey cool I'm famous," Jackson jokes.

"Be quiet, let me finish!" The detective ordered. Detective Greger looked at me and said, "but who exactly are you?" I didn't know what to say. "I did some digging, it was hard but I found some things that were interesting," he flipped over a page in his notepad. "You were at the Black Mesa incident for the HECU Marines and we know everything else known about you that is available. But after Black Mesa, there's nothing on you. Your files were updated to 'Missing in Action,' and nobody knows what happened to you after that, no history or anything." There was a silence in the room, "So I will ask again: who are you, Adrian Shephard?"

I guess this was it right? Look like more of a foul than Jackson, who most likely lied for most of his answers. I tried to keep my cool.

"Look, I don't know what's going on or what any of you guys are talking about. To be honest, I have more questions than you do, Detective." I had to choose my next words very carefully, I needed to lie in order to not seem crazy. The inner Jacksoness inside me needed to make this sound good. "The most recent thing I can recall is waking up on a boat or something on the water and escaping off it. I then made my way here. And to be honest with you, you'll get more information by interviewing an intoxicated person than getting anything out of me. And no, I don't know when that was and or anything else. I only joined the umm.. Whatever Jackson is a part of really recently. I also find it strange how we bumped into each other, but I don't have a god damn clue what's going on," the room fell flat without a sound in the room, Greger and Felix looked at each with no idea what to think. They both looked back at me,

"I think that's all for now, we're done here. If it turns out any of you were lying, then I will come straight back to both of you," Greger says, "Felix do you mind escorting them out of here?"

"Man who has the authority around here? The kid or this lieutenant colonel?" Jackson jokingly asks. The cuffs unlocked from my wrists, almost free hands.

"Levántate," Felix ordered.

"What the hell does that mean?" Jackson asks. "I don't know Italian."

"Get up! Don't try doing anything stupid or that piece of Combine machinery on your leg will take care of you without hesitation," Felix informs. "Now move out there." We walked out of the interrogation room and into a busy hallway where authority works around the clock to fulfill their goals, to protect and defend. Felix walks behind us with his hands crossed on his back, he had no need to worry because he was right about the device. While we were being forced to walk, Felix said to me,

"You know Adrian, you and I have a lot of similarities."

"I'm nothing like you," I said.

"You don't think we have anything in common? You're a pretty nice and honest person, well at least on the outside. We both have pretty good leadership skills, I've read what you did back in Black Mesa. Our own leaders don't like us, they frankly hate my ways of getting things done. We both do what seems right and have seen the horrors of war."

"You killed that innocent person for no reason, I just don't see it," I said.

"Fallens aren't people. But maybe you are right, I don't see it either," he said. "But there are a lot of uncovered mysteries Adrian, let's just see where they go and how it all adds up." We exited a Combine citadel and onto the city streets shined by the moon. I wasn't in City 22 anymore, everyone wore orange uniforms and the streets were a complete mess that nobody took care of. Buildings destroyed and security increased by ten. Drones in the sky and civil protection roamed around in riot gear. Jackson knew what this was, he had been here before.

"Welcome to City 11," Felix introduced to us,"and be sure to settle in, because this is gonna take a long time." Felix then walked back inside the City 11 Citadel. There we were, Jackson and I standing in the middle of the decaying streets, wondering what our next plan of escape was.

Jackson peeked through a white wooden door labeled 311, he slowly barged into the room knowing it was clean. We had entered an apartment building and had stopped on the third floor. The room we entered was clear, nothing much was there; there was a table and two chairs against the windows. Jackson sat down without a flash and laid his right hand on his cheeks and face. The outside had rain starting to kick in.

"Adrian," Jackson said in a slow voice, "was everything you said true?"

"Well I could ask you the same thing-" Jackson wasn't playing around this time,

"Adrian tell me right now." I had to lie somewhat.

"Yes...," I answered.

"So you don't know anything?"

"Of course not."

"God damn it, I don't," Jackson struggled, "I don't know what to tell you. So much has changed and a lot has happened over the years. Where do I even begin?"

"When was Black Mesa," I asked.

"That was twenty years, Adrian. I'm forty-nine years old now." My shock was beyond my own understanding, the Government civic was right about times being changed. "Then after that, the Combine took over Earth in about seven hours and I was transformed to City 11. To be honest with you, I completely lost it, I mean I couldn't sleep, eat, focus, angry all the time and I knew at that point in my life that I was all alone." Jackson then lit a cigarette and cracked the window next to him. "You know why we are in this room?" Jackson asked. "Because this is the same room that I stayed in. The same one where I thought about everyone I lost, including you. I'm surprised nobody even took this room though," Jackson wondered. "But the room next door was occupied by somebody named Grace Shelley. She helped me, she is what made me move on. She was a beautiful and such kind person, we both had the same humor and everything. It was perfect. Everything in both City 11 and City 22 was amazing, we lived in good times back then. The market was going crazy and everyone was happy."

"Under this Combine occupation?" I asked

"Yes," Jackson answered. "We have freedoms and rights. I've heard some are not so lucky with policies in other cities, I doubt it though. But during those times, Grace joined the Lambdars and I didn't get why. I thought the Combine was doing well for us and so why would I want them gone, you know? Then the Great Market Crash of City 22 happened, that was seven years ago now, and everything went crazy. City 11 got hit the hardest, the civil protection got paid less and all CP personnels went on a union strike and started rioting. Since there was nobody protecting us, the Combine forced us to hold out until other civil protection units from City 22 would arrive. I was forced into a militia group called the Phoenix Militia, and I still don't know what those CPs thought they would win in that fight. It was unwinnable from the start and it lasted three days because once reinforcement came on the second day, it was all done for. There was so much irony in that event."

"So what happened to Grace?" I asked.

"Me and Grace were fighting about I guess politics, the Combine. She stormed out of this room and the next day, I hear she was caught in the crossfire on the second day of the fighting. Me and her were good friends and it broke me so hard. I had a thing for her but that's all we were, just friends. I wanted to be more than that, but she's gone and I have no idea if she felt the same."

"I'm sorry, Owen."

"Ahh it's okay. That ring I went on about was a gift from her, I just need to get it back as soon as possible. It's one of the only things I have left of her. But after the war, the Combine couldn't pay for the damages at City 11 because we didn't have the money for it. So to make sure something like this wouldn't happen again, City 22 formed the OCPA. And we shipped everyone from City 11 to City 22 and then made this place a prison city where they put all the criminals."

"So are we trapped here?" I asked.

"I refuse to believe that," Jackson confessed. "I have an idea that could work. The group that I was with during the City 11 Riots are still here, maybe they could work out a deal for us," Jackson thought. He stood up and headed for the front door, "In the meantime, we should get something to eat and get some rest. You stay here and hold the fort, I'm gonna go outside and get some rations from the Combine," Jackson stated. "I'll get some grub soda, you want anything else?"

"Well what do they have?" I ask.

"Oh yeah," Jackson forgot again. "Well they got headcrabs, crackers, bull squids, burgers..." Jackson said with a pause.

"Half of what you said sounded unappealing, I'll just take a burger I guess. I didn't know there was still animal meat."

"Actually there probably isn't anymore, it's most likely houndeye," Jackson states.

"Fine I'll take it, and get me some of those crackers," I say with a sigh.

"Oh yeah the crackers are also made out of some kind of xen like salt material," Jackson says.

"Are you fucking with me?!" I ask in frustration.

"Yes I am, they are just normal crackers," Jackson joked. "I'll be right back."

"Wait, I have to ask," I stopped to ask him. "What's Fallen?" I asked. "I've been hearing about them and I don't know what that is."

"They're machine made humans, before the City 11 Riots, companies and businesses wanted to capitalize on creating humans. The reason why was because of the Suppression Field that the Combine put in place, it makes humans not reproduce. The population of both cities, at the time, hated this. So some businesses made machines that make Fallens, all you need to do is give them your semen or any DNA that is required, and they will give you your new child as soon as possible. It somewhat helped keep the people more happy on the issue," Jackson explained.

"Well why somewhat? Can't we still have children?" I asked.

"Yes, but they're not the same like normal Humans. After the City 11 Riots, the Combine forced new Fallens to be loyal to the Double U, or just the Universal Union: they have these chips in the back of their heads that makes them more likely to obey. How you can tell if they're a Fallan is from their eye colors, they either have white or black eyes. They also don't live as long as regular Humans and age pretty fast."

"Shit, so that's what a Fallen is," I said to myself.

"Yeah." Jackson vouched for me."Also, Fallens is just a nickname we give them, not exactly a friendly word to use because they are marketed and see themselves as Humans."

"Noted," I said back to Jackson.

"Well, I'm off, I'll be back," Jackson then walked out of the door. I sat down where Jackson was sitting earlier and looked outside at the pouring rain sliding off from the window. I probably had more questions than when I first came into this world.

Jackson has gotten me in a place where it hurts, he has done it more than once _so far_, and I was questioning if this was the right call. To be honest, I don't know if I can _t_R_u_S_t_ him, he's a nice guy and all, but he has caused too much trouble for me. Or maybe he is my only way out of this remaining g_a_r_b_a_g_e referred to as a city.

I'd wait tomorrow to see what exactly his next plan was, but there were still many more unanswered questions.

End of Chapter IV

**20, 8, 5, 3, 9**

**20, 21, 9, 19, 14, 15, 20, 19, 5, 3, 21, 18, 5, 4**

**9, 18, 5, 16, 5, 1, 20,**

**20, 8, 5, 3, 9**

**20, 21, 9, 19, 14, 15, 20, 19, 5, 3, 21, 18, 5, 4**

June 4, 2020

* * *

Author's Notes:

Well that's another chapter done. It felt long making this because of many things: one of those reasons being that this is now unknown territory for me. Chapters one through three were in the works for a long time, the farthest date I can recall is somewhere between late December of 2018 and I hope it doesn't go any farther than that. The reason why it took so long was because chapters one through three were going to be one complete chapter, and the story also had many alterations and changes. When I think about it, that just sounds crazy for a fanfiction and all of these changes. But that is what happened. I'm just glad I'm writing about something else now in the story finally.

I've also been trying to learn how to use Hammer for Goldsource mapping. So that's got me worked up and trying to figure out the software. Before anyone asks: no I hope this fanfiction doesn't become a mod because it would be the worst game ever made.

Other than that and me being lazy and doing other stuff, that's kind of why. I hope the next chapter comes out as soon as possible since I'm out of school. I hope you all stay safe during these troubled times and take care. My YouTube channel is Elephants Doing Crack and you can write a review if you liked this story or have any criticism.


	5. Chapter 5 - Men Among Ruins

_Missing in __λction_

_Chapter V: Men Among Ruins_

**SUBJECT: **ADRIAN SHEPHARD

**COMMISSION:** CURRENT ASSIGNMENT IN-PROGRESS

Within the occupied regions of City 11

The sun was shining, millions of miles away from where I was. The air must have been fresh. A large cloud in the distance that didn't remind me of anything.

I looked back down and then remembered I was in this dying city. A city of crooks. Decay buildings. The end of a civilization.

Jackson and I were walking on the sidewalk while he was having a Grub soda. We tried having what little of a conversation we could have under these chains.

"And that was the time I almost shot my landlord," Jackson concluded his story.

"Ahuh, that really sounds crazy Jackson," I said without listening to a single word he was saying.

"Yeah," Jackson said to himself. "Hey, you know, this was actually the same street I used to drive on to get to work," Jackson pointed to our left.

"Really? What was your job?" I asked.

"I was a bartender."

"Oh really?" I asked again.

"Yeah, but now I'm just a straight up criminal now who does dealings."

"Interesting, I guess that makes two of us?" I said.

"You know what else is interesting?" Jackson asked. He went to my ear and whispered, "I hid a lot of money in this city, I buried it in a playground that's not far from here."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"Because I trust you; in case anything doesn't go our way, we could use half of it to our advantage," Jackson took a step back and finished his drink. He then tossed his garbage to the side of the road.

"So is anybody going to clean that up?" I asked.

"Of course not," Jackson answered. "Do you wanna ask the trash man of City 11 if he'll get around to it?" Jackson said sarcastically.

While walking, Jackson was explaining about something he did at work. I again could have cared less about what he was saying to me. But I saw something across the block, off in the distance on a crosswalk. I pointed it out to Jackson and how he was watching us; Jackson knew that in his mind, it was the contact we were meeting up with. Jackson told me to stay back as he went to talk to him. The man, from what I saw, had a green armband and a black leather jacket over his orange jumpsuit. I just looked at them for a while, wondering what they could have been talking about. Maybe something about _m__**E**_.

Jackson came back over to me and said, "Alright, so they want us to go into this place. But we have to go in the back. You know so we don't draw too much suspicion." He pointed to the building that was on my right, I turned and read out 'The Golden Club.' So I did as he ordered, we both went around the back.

The smell of the alley we had to go through could not be described. Trash flooded it with all the years it's been. We found the steel door and before we went in, Jackson gave me a warning. "Adrian, I need to tell you something about these guys because you still don't know what's going on," Jackson stated. "So, I didn't know this until now, but they are with The Foundation. Now the Foundation, the best I can put it, are like Human Nazis."

"Wait, so are we dealing with Neo-Nazis?" I asked.

"They are like Nazis, but not exactly," Jackson made clear. "They basically just hate all aliens and think Humans are the supreme species. Just let me do the talking since I know them."

"Well, thanks for the heads up."

"Also before you ask, yes I've known them for more than 2 weeks," Jackson jokingly said. A grim reminder. I open the door and we both welcomed ourselves in. This was it, the diamond in the road, the people who were going to figure out how to get us out. There was a ring of them, a scam organization within the prison's system for its loopholes. These thugs all had a green armband on their shoulders; the logo had three lines connected with a top line, like an '_E_' turned over vertically, with a green banner behind it; for the armbands however, it was turned over forming the '_E'_ I was talking about, which stood for 'Earth.' I had remembered what this group was, I saw them back in City 22, back in the alleyway. Some ideal to blind people into a false belief.

There was one man in the middle of the room, a man from Asian descent with a black beard, wearing a black leather jacket. Somebody with glasses from the lovely audience comes out and with some kind of tech tool.

"Don't move!" The man screamed. "This will help jam your leg collars." He crouched down for us and shocked our collars with his tool thing. "Alright, that should do it, the Combine will be seeing your dots elsewhere within the city." He then ran back to where he was before. When he ran I noticed something that everyone else didn't; a black widow spider was webbing down from the ceiling and onto a support beam. How was I the only one who saw it? The situation was peculiar, I have a strange thing when it comes to spiders, they easily disturb me with their biological structure. But why here? Why now? Was this a target on me purposefully? I can't really say. Someone would have to know about me and my phobia. It seemed like most of Earth's creatures were gone, but here it was.

The man I described before in the middle stepped out of the ring.

"Vincent!" Jackson said in joy. "Long time no see, am I right?"

"Funny how that's coming from you, since you're the one who left us," Vincent said in a not so happy mood.

"Well, I mean, we all make mistakes guys."

"Owen, you have a lot of nerve coming back here. Rumors have it that you are with the Lambdas now. Why join a dying movement, Owen?" Vincent asked.

"Look, we need your help: you know most of the ins and outs of this city, and we need to get out of here," Jackson said.

"I don't see why we should help you two. First, you leave us after the uprising, and then after many years now you want our help? On top of that you bring this random man here with you? You can go to hell," Vincent states.

"Oh come on, there has to be something," Jackson begged. A thought had come to mind, what Jackson told me before coming in here.

"Hey, maybe we could trade something, in return you show us how to leave the city?" I suggested.

"Like what?" Vincent asked.

"Well Jackson buried some money," I said.

"Wait Adria-," Jackson tried telling me.

"No waits, that could do. How much are we talking?" Vincent asked. Jackson said with grief,

"Alright, I'll tell you. But can you give me something to write on, I don't trust these shock collars one-hundred percent with my life." The glasses man comes back to us and says that he has a pen and notebook with him; he gives them both to Jackson and he writes on it. He slowly walks over to Vincent and hands it over to him. Vincent then looks at it.

"Is this a joke?!" Vincent asked in frustration. "There is no way you have this much money! Stop bullshiting."

"I'm not! When I left Phoenix Militia I went to City 22 and I called some old friends of mine from City 11 that I knew. And me and my two contacts got together to rob some banks. I swear, it was only the three of us and that was that. We just kept robbing, and robbing and then we got away with it," Jackson stated.

"Wait, I read about that on the digital paper when it was still happening, The Three Bank Men Robbery. That was you?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah, I wore the red hoodie thingy and they wore purple and blue clothing for some reason. I never spent most of my paid share, instead I tried burying it here. At least what little I could." Vincent looked at us with a keen interest in our deal.

"I like your offer, Owen. To be quite honest, I'm impressed. Tell you what, we have an undercover Civil Protection officer named 'Frederick,' you take him where you 'buried' the money and if what you say is true, then you've got yourself a deal. I'll stay with...," Vincent snapped his finger repetitively at me trying to get my name.

"Adrian," I answered.

"...Adrian, until you and Frederick get back here," Vincent said.

"Wait, does Frederick by any chance have access to the citadel? I ask because I would like to get our stuff back."

"Sure. With the money you're paying with, it won't be a problem," Vincent informs. "Anyways, Adrian was it? Let's go into my office. Also, the name's Vincent Corradini," Corradini told me.

Vincent Corradini had taken me into his little office. There was a brown desk, it wasn't cleaned out since these looked like meetings they go through, but I guess you have to work with what you have. We sat down and Vincent Corradini asked in wonder, "So what kind of poor bastard is hanging around Owen Jackson of all people?"

"Well, I knew him back in the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit when me and him were sent into Black Mesa," I answered.

"Thank you for your service, Adrian," Corradini said somewhat sarcastically. "So you two were really at Black Mesa? Jackson never really mentioned that when he was with us."

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Fair," Corradini saw. "But how come you look so young?" I had to continue with the story I made up, I just couldn't spill out the _truth_.

"I don't really know. I woke up on some kind of boat after many years and now I'm here. Frozen by the Combine or something," I said.

"Yeah, that sounds like them, those bastards."

"So who are you guys? What exactly do you stand for?" I asked.

"The Foundation is a coalition of Human activists and workers who believe that Earth should be ruled by her people. The Fallen, Xenian, and the Combine have turned these natural grounds into a shadow of her former self. They are abominations that have corrupted the planet to the point of weakness. The Fallen are mutations of Combine technology and corrupted capitalism. What we follow is 'Humanism.' As the definition puts it: 'Humanism is an ideology, movement or philosophy of ranking a species above the individual, with a strong belief in culture preservation and strength for the people.'"

"So why did you join?" I asked.

"Before the City 11 Riots, I was a trash man who just wanted to make a living. It wasn't the best job, but me and my boys knew that line of work. Then we were conscripted into fighting a war against the system itself. After the war, we got nothing in return for our struggle. We were at a loss for jobs and for the future," Corradini explained. "We then looked around us. These Fallens are here because why not? What happens when Humanity is extinct? Will the Fallens take our place and be a false sign of a species? Am I supposed to be okay with that? Until we're nothing but bones knowing there will be no more future generations?" Corradini asked many times.

"That's horrible," I say.

"Honestly, I don't know why there are democratic values within the system. What's the point?" Corradini asked. "Now to be fair, the government has been able to somewhat subvert the market crisis with the OCPA stopping insurgents like us. You may already know this: but war is profitable. The market was increasing during those three days of the City 11 riots, of course with the ending of a war comes recession. Not too many people know that. Then again, that is if they even want to call it a 'war.' So really we've had more crashes than we can count."

"So won't the ending of these rebellions just start another flop in the market?" I asked.

"No because these skirmishes will never end, there will always be crime and resistance within the shadow of a doubt."

"So is that the government's only response?" I ask Corradini once more.

"No. They have tried other things in the past and even present. For example, they've lowered taxes and have increased tariffs on materials from outside cities so that businesses can do well."

"Wait tariffs still exist?" I asked. "What is a tariff anyways? I never quite got it."

"Tariffs are an increase in pricing, in this case it's with our exports and imports. We started tariffing our goods to other sectors so our businesses could make more in return; but our products have increased prices and our business partners hate dealing with us." Vincent explained.

"So why even have low taxes? No matter what, it seems like you're spending more than what people want. To me, tariffs sound like high taxes in disguise."

"That is true," Corradini admits. "I never did say that I supported the government's tariff actions."

Vincent Corradini's radio started going off with some kind of European accent person repeating,

"Corradini come in, Corradini come in." Corradini picked up his communication device,

"Yes, I'm here."

"Sir, I found what Owen talks about. The money is true. There are twelve boxes, six blues and six reds ones," said by possibly Frederick.

"So what's with the colors then?" Corradini asked.

"Well Owen told me that he would use a certain amount if anything went 'haywire' for his personal life. That must be why he colored them. He's willing to give it all up," Frederick explained.

"Sounds good, carry on with the demands."

"Yes sir," Frederick signed off from the walkie talkie while Corradini placed the one he had back on his hip.

"So you're that willing to work with Jackson?" I asked.

"Well when somebody offers you this much money, you would do anything for them. It's the type of money that would buy a person."

"I see," realizing the situation. "So what's exactly your history with Jackson?"

"Well we fought during the City 11 Riots, but my actual thoughts on the bozo himself: to be honest with you, I don't think I would trust him with my life. And nor should you," Corradini said. "This guy left us behind in this goddamn city and has screwed over everyone he seems to drag along with him."

"So why are you trusting him now?" I asked.

"Because my contact gave me the okay. Unlike Owen, I trust Frederick with my life: he's quite good at his job. But to get back on topic," Corradini changed, "Owen is a strange man. This club is where he would spend most of his days. It was owned by some vortie named 'Skimp,' and that alien bastard hated Owen's guts. He would drink till there was no tomorrow and most of the time made a ruckus. Then one day, Skimp banned him from ever coming back here again. I heard he wanted to touch one of the ladies, but those are rumors. So, I take them with a grain of salt. However, there is no more Skimp and this place is a ruin, so Owen hasn't been in this place for years."

"So what? Should I not trust Jackson?" I asked.

"That's up to you, Adrian," Corradini said. "I decided a long time ago." I sat back and thought about what he said; trying to realize the situation I am in with Jackson. Was he to be _Tr_U_sT_e_D? _Too much paranoia.

Hours kicked in, Vincent and I had nothing really left to talk about. We waited for the cavalry to arrive at Vincent's doorsteps. Eventually, out of pure silence, we hear the knock of releaf.

"Hey guys, we're back," Jackson said behind the echo of the steel door. The door slowly opened with the unwelcoming smell of nicotine.

Jackson came out with all of the equipment that was confiscated by the OCPA. He had placed on the table, and I say this with remorse, my suit and pipe wrench.

"I'm lucky to have found most of my stuff," Jackson said about his jacket, hat and pistol. "Too bad my jacket was cleared out though, alot of them were memories and business related materials," Jackson said in disappointment about his contents. "But hey, for a Humanist, that Fred guy was actually kind of nice. I'm grateful that he wasn't as annoying as I was expecting."

"Enough talk," Vincent ordered, "let's get down to business."

"Ah yes, of course. So how do we get out of here?" Jackson asked.

"Here, let me show you," Vincent said. Vincent gets up from his wooden chair and pushes the desk a couple of inches away from where it originally was. There was a hatch that led downwards under the ground, some kind of pipeline. "I don't know too many of these escape routes that are still left. Civil Protection blocks off every one that they find," Vincent informs.

"Damn your telling me that we could have just killed you guys and left this city without paying you," Jackson jokes. "Well okay, all kidding aside, thank you for-," Jackson tries telling Vincent.

"Owen, no more help. You hear me?!"

"Yeah," Jackson answers with a long pause, "I promise that this will be the _las_t time we meet. No more help."

"Good," Vincent relieved with a cold tone. "Except for you Adrian, your not so bad. You would make a great member of the Foundation."

"Maybe another time, I'm not in the mood of busting in alien heads right now," I said sarcastically.

"Alright let's get moving, Adrian. Good luck with your stupid beliefs you fascists," Jackson said while climbing down the ladder.

"Rot in hell!" Vincent made clear.

The pipeline took me and Jackson outside of the city walls. The day was night. Puddles were everywhere, muddy slough under my boot.

Across from me, a distance giggle is coming from Jackson. He is leaning against a tree, trying to gain back control. I make my way to him trying to make each step carefully as possible.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Those-" Jackson not able to withhold himself while laughing, "those fascist scums actually bought it. I can't believe that even worked. Thank you so much Adrian, I don't know how we would have gotten through that." Jackson said while laughing and giggling.

"Bought what?" I asked.

"The money, half of it was fake." Jackson laughs out with.

"Wait you didn't have the money?!"

"What? Are you serious?" Jackson giggled, "Of course not. Nobody has that kind of money lying around. That's insane," Jackson admitted. "The red boxes were fake because I just didn't want to pay taxes. Oh man, this is priceless. Ayy Get it? PRICELESS." Jackson continues to laugh.

"But how did we manage to get away with it then?" I asked. Jackson finally was able to get a hold of himself and took some breathers. He patted me on the shoulder and said,

"The one thing I really like doing is lying. Stick with me, Adrian, and you'll find out the ropes."

"Was that a lie?" I asked.

"Don't be stupid, of course not," Jackson said. "Now for some closure so we can stop thinking about it, I screwed them over again by only giving half of what they wanted. Boom, that mess is over with," Jackson closed. "Now back on the real mission at hand. Doctor Rosalind is closer to us than before; ironically, us getting captured saved us a lot more time. So we should be good for a while until they realize were gone. Alright, let's go, there's no time to waste."

I didn't know what to think, we had screwed over those innocent people: you might not have the same belief or even like them, but they are still People like you or I.

I looked up and saw a black widow spider on a tree truck. Was this the same one that was at the Golden Club? "Adrian, you coming or not?" Being a wanted criminal, I had to get my bearings straight and back on my feet. And this suit and wrench weren't helping.

I really started thinking about what Vincent told me about Jackson. Was he really right about him?

**SUBJECT:** ALEJANDRO FELIX

**EMPLOYMENT: **Outside Civil Protection Agent, Lieutenant Colonel

Meeting with City 22 Administrator due to recent activity

A big meeting for me today. I was informed to travel back to City 22 because the Senator requested my company. Despite my public disagreements with him, he still requires to talk with me. It must be important.

In the citadel, the Senator's men were in a hurry of some kind. I'm guessing they're Fallens since they never talked like normal Humans, who wore black suits and glasses. They all talked in a cold and unemotional tone. And they kept reminding me that the Senator was waiting for me.

I made it up to his office, at first it was all quiet. I saw that the Senator was at his window looking down the city. I walked up to his desk.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" I asked.

"Agent," the Senator said with a southern accent, "do you remember how beautiful this city once was? A city where folks didn't need to worry about if they got food on their plate or not. But looking down right now, makes me feel like I've failed this job."

"I'm sorry to hear about that, sir," I said.

"Don't be," he said in disagreement. "Oh and do make yourself at home. Please, sit down," the Senator recommends.

"Okay, sir," I sit down on the chair against the desk. He then turns around and slowly walks over to his desk with a cane. I knew that his age was really getting the best of him.

"So Lieutenant Colonel, you've been with us for eight years now?" The Senator asked.

"Yes sir, I took part in city street patrols and the domestic handling of the City 11 uprising. Now I work for the 111th Red Company of the OCPA," I answered.

"Well I know that," he said in a somewhat sassy tone while sitting down in his chair. "So why the get up on your mask, son?" He asked.

"Well, during the City 11 Riots, my Captain did everything he could to save as many people as possible. He gave his life to the cause and led us in terrible conditions. He died in my hands around the time the third day started. I was the second in command so I had to adapt to my surroundings and carry on his duty. He bleeded out on me, put his hand print on my mask while he was suffocating. To me, it's a reminder of who I am." Each promotion I get, the more guilty I feel. It should have gone to him, not me.

"Very inspiring, Lieutenant Colonel," the Senator says, very much interested. "Now, I brought you here for an important task that was discovered by you messing around with the bee's nest," the Senator said metaphorically. "I was reading both you and Detective Greger's reports on your most recent case."

"I'm so sorry, sir, when we were trying to find them to ask more questions, we found out that they had already escaped," I tried explaining.

"Now now," the Senator trying to calm me down, "it's fine son. Relax, calm yourself. Think of joy, a time that made you happy," the Senator said. I thought of before the crash and controlled my breathing. "But it's okay to be a little worried, these two thugs must be stopped," he ordered. I've heard people make up rumors about the Senator, but in person he seems pretty nice.

"I agree, sir," I admitted. "But with all due respect, I don't see why you brought me all the way up here to tell me about this small case. Is it the chemical weapons part?"

"No, in fact I doubt it," the Senator said.

"Then why, sir?"

"You see Lieutenant Colonel, I was warned about this by people who are above the food chain. This Adrian Shephard is an interesting fellow, he said how he woke up on a crew ship and doesn't know anything else after that. That's not true at all, we don't have any type of ship that would do that."

"Greger has other theories about possibly why he's so young," I explained.

"But unlike Greger, I was told things to be warned about, and they fit perfectly together: I was advised to be aware of somebody who has had no trace since Black Mesa. However, they spoke of other people, even though this man has everything I was told about. If I am right about this and we don't take care of these two, then it will be the ending of our great democracy."

"So why tell me this?" I asked.

"Look, I know we don't have the same agreements and you don't like me. But your our best man for the job: your record keeps proving you time and time again. This was your case, I know, that with your leadership and strategy, you will get these two," the Senator explains.

"I understand, sir."

"Good," the Senator said. "Now this case will be the OCPA's top case; all companies will be working together to combat these criminals. And of course, Lieutenant Colonel, you will be leading this," he informed.

"Thank you so much sir," I said kindly.

"You'll get all the funding you need, weapons, equipment, men. Anything that will help you on your journey," the Senator slowly leans in on his chair. "The mission now begins, Agent, do you have any leads?" The Senator asked.

"Detective Greater was able to find out how they escaped City 11. A group who is sympathetic to the Foundation showed them how to escape and stole back their equipment. We also found out which traitor it was," I explained.

"Well there's a start," the Senator slowly gets up and walks over to the window again. "Find them and do whatever you think seems necessary."

"Wait, what's going to happen to that group?" I asked.

"I ordered that 25% of them be terminated through their leg collars, including the leader and traitor," the Senator informed me. I couldn't believe what he said. Why would he want those people to die?

"But what if we have questions? you can't just do that!" I screamed.

"Oh Lieutenant Colonel," the Senator then walked over to me and laid back on the table, "that's not up for you to decide. What you need to understand, Agent, is that this is war, you have to do whatever it takes to win a war. We will not stand for these insurgents, we have to strike fear into their nerves so that others can learn," the Senator said. "Have you ever heard of the phrase, 'if you wanna make a omelette you've gonna break a few eggs?' Hell, I doubt you even know what a omelette is," the Senator says. "Now this is the type of disagreements that I didn't want," the Sensor wanted. "I have to ask: can I trust you with this task?" If I declined, who knows who'll get the case. Not everyone at the OCPA has the same Morales or mindset as me. This was me and Greger's case, hands down. We need to squeeze everything out of those two and prevent the Combine from making the situation out of control. I had no good choices, besides accepting.

"Yes, sir," I said with confidence.

"Then let's shake on it," the Senator raised his hand upward for a handshake. I then proceeded and made the deal official. "Good," he said Softly. "From now on, this will be a team effort."

"Yes, sir." The Senator stood back up and then decided to walk over to the window.

"Good. Dismiss," the Senator ordered. I get up and walk over to the door. "Oh wait, one last thing, Agent" the Senator called before I left.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I almost forgot to tell you about the new humans that are being manufactured. They'll be with the OCPA on these matters," the Senator informed.

"With all due respect, sir, I don't think we'll need them. I trust Humans more than Fallens," I said as kindly as possible.

"No, no," he repeated himself, "these ones are different. Prototypes, early fragmentations and modifications. These design choices will be determined if they can help our cause in any way. So let's give these criminals a warm welcome," he said. "Oh and how's your new Fallen medic? What's that boy's name again?" He asked twice.

"Wait Calvin's a Fallen?" I asked back.

"Yes, of course. Didn't you read his files?" The Senator asked.

"I haven't had the time, I've been more focused on this case. I only braised through a little bit of it when I got it. This is news to me, sir," I didn't know that.

"Well that doesn't matter, Lieutenant Colonel," the Senator says, "Oh wait, it is just Lieutenant Colonel, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir?" I said.

"Well how does Colonel Felix sound to you?"

"Thank you, sir," I said in a unjoyful voice.

"The city is watching you, Agent, don't fail us," he said while trying to point at me. I nodded and walked out of the room.

It was a lot to impact, Calvin being a Fallen and me being promoted. Looks like the OCPA is now on a manhunt. This was a case bigger than I'd expected, Greger will have a lot of work on his hands.

End of Chapter V

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August 14, 2020

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_Author's Notes:_

So it's pretty much been a whole year since I started on Missing in Action. Which feels so weird because it felt like time went by fast.

I'm going to start dating these chapters just so their history isn't completely lost forever in time and space. However, I don't remember chapters two or three, so those two, unless I find them out, won't have the date of release.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay safe during the current events. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel 'Elephants Doing Crack.'


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